1.7 


.) 


BS  188  .M5A  1917 

Milligan 

,  George, 

1860- 

193A. 

The  expository  va 

lue  of 

the 

Revised 

version 

THE  SHORT  COURSE  SERIES 


THE  EXPOSITORY  VALUE  OF  THE 
REVISED  VERSION 


GENERAL     PREFACE 


The  title  of  the  present  series  is  a  sufficient 
indication  of  its  purpose.  Few  preachers, 
or  congregations,  will  face  the  long  courses 
of  expository  lectures  which  characterised 
the  preaching  of  the  past,  but  there  is  a 
growing  conviction  on  the  part  of  some 
that  an  occasional  short  course,  of  six  or 
eight  connected  studies  on  one  definite 
theme,  is  a  necessity  of  their  mental  and 
ministerial  life.  It  is  at  this  point  the  pro- 
jected series  would  strike  in.  It  would 
suggest  to  those  who  are  mapping  out  a 
scheme  of  work  for  the  future  a  variety  of 
subjects  which  might  possibly  be  utilised  in 
this  way. 

The  appeal,  however,  will  not  be  restricted 
to    ministers    or    preachers.      The    various 
volumes  will  meet  the  needs  of  laymen  and 
ii 


General  Preface 

Sabbath-school  teachers  who  are  interested 
in  a  scholarly  but  also  practical  exposition 
of  Bible  history  and  doctrine.  In  the  hands 
of  office-bearers  and  mission-workers  the 
"  Short  Course  Series "  may  easily  become 
one  of  the  most  convenient  and  valuable 
of  Bible  helps. 

It  need  scarcely  be  added  that  while  an 
effort  has  been  made  to  secure,  as  far  as 
possible,  a  general  uniformity  in  the  scope 
and  character  of  the  series,  the  final  re- 
sponsibility for  the  special  interpretations 
and  opinions  introduced  into  the  separate 
volumes,  rests  entirely  with  the  individual 
contributors. 

A  detailed  list  of  the  authors  and  their 
subjects  will  be  found  at  the  close  of  each 
volume. 


Volumes  Already  Published 

A  Cry  for  Justice:   A  Study  in  Amos. 

By  Prof.  John  E.  McFadyen,  D.D. 
The  Beatitudes. 

By  Rev.  Robert  H.  Fisher,  D.D. 
The  Lenten  Psalms. 

By  the  Editor. 
The  Psalm  of  Psalms. 

By  Prof.  James  Stalker,  D.D. 
The  Song  and  the  Soil. 

By  Prof.  W.  G.  Jordan,  D.D. 
The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul. 

By  Rev.  George  M'Hardy,  D.D. 
Jehovah-Jesus. 

By  Rev.  Thomas  Whitelaw,  D.D. 
The  Sevenfold  i  Am. 

By  Rev.  Thomas  Marjoribanks,  B.D. 
The  Man  Among  the  Myrtles. 

By  the  Editor. 
The  Story  of  Joseph. 

By  Rev.  Adam  C.  Welch,  B.D.,  Th.D. 
The  Divine  Drama  of  Job. 

By  Rev.  Charles  F.  Aked,  D.D. 
A  Mirror  of  the  Soul:    Studies  in  the  Psalter. 

By  Rev.  Canon  Vaughan,  M.A. 
In  the  Upper  Room. 

By  Rev.  D.  J.  Burrill,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
The  Son  of  Man. 

By  Andrew  C.  Zenos,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
The  Joy  of  Finding. 

By  Rev.  Alfred  E.  Garvie. 
The  Prayers  of  St.  Paul. 

By  Rev.  W.  H.  Griffith  Thomas,  D.D. 
The  Emotions  of  Jesus. 

By  Prof.  Robert  Law,  D.D. 
Belief  and  Life. 

By  W.  B.  Selbie,  M.A.,  D.D. 
The  Prophecy  of  Micah. 

By  Rev.  Arthur  J.  Tait,  D.D. 
The  Expository  Value  of  the  Revised  Version. 

By  George  Milligan,  D.D. 


Price  75  cents  net  per  Volume 


Zlbe  Sbort  Courge  Series 

EDITED  BY 

Rbv.  JOHN  ADAMS,  B.D. 


THE 
EXPOSITORY  VALUE  OF 
THE  REVISED  VERSION 


BY 

GEORGE  "mILLIGAN,  D.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF  DIVINITY  AND   BIBLICAL  CRITICISM 
IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  GLASGOW 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1917 


TO 

JAMES    HOPE    MOULTON 


CONTENTS 


PART   I 


PAGE 


Sketch  of  the  History  of  the  English 
Versions  from  the  Earliest  Days  down 
to  the  Revised  Version     .       .       .       .        i 

I.  The  Earlier  Versions     ....        3 
II.  The  Later  Versions       .        .        •        .      20 

PART   II 

The  Practical  Use  of  the  Revised  Version      43 
I.  Negatively  —  Its    Removing    of    Diffi- 
culties        45 

II.  Positively — Its    Advantages    as    com- 
pared with  the  Authorized  Version       70 

PART    III 

The  Doctrinal  Significance  of  the  Revised 
Version 93 

I.  The  Person  and  Work  of  Christ  .      95 

II.  The  Christian  Life         ....     107 

III.  The  Holy  Spirit  and  Free  Will  .        .124 

IV.  The  Last  Things 135 

Appendix 141 

Index ,       ...    145 

vii 


"Translation  it  is  that 

openeth  the  window,  to  let 

in  the  light 

;  that  breaketh  the  shell,  that  we 

may 

eat 

the  kernel 

that   putteth 

aside   the   curtain, 

that 

we 

may   look 

into   the    most 

holy   place ;    that 

removeth 

the    cover 

of   the   well, 

that    we   may   come 

by 

the 

water." 

The  Translators  to  the  Reader^ 

i6i 

[. 

PART    I 

SKETCH  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  ENG- 
LISH VERSIONS  FROM  THE  EARLIEST 
DAYS  DOWN  TO  THE  REVISED  VERSION 


I 

THE  EARLIER  VERSIONS 

In  order  to  understand  the  place  which  the 
Revised  Version  has  in  the  history  of  our 
EngHsh  Bible,  it  will  be  well  to  review  that 
history  briefly  from  the  time  of  the  original 
documents  down  to  the  present  day. 

I.  The  Original  Documents  and  Jerome. 

In  the  case  of  the  Old  Testament,  these 
original  documents  consisted  of  a  number 
of  rolls,  or  books  in  roll-form,  the  time  of 
whose  composition  extended  over  a  period 
of  several  centuries.  The  rolls  were  written 
(with  a  few  trifling  exceptions)  in  the 
Hebrew  language,  and  mainly,  if  not  entirely, 
on  skins.     And  it  is   characteristic   of   the 

3 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

conservatism  that  generally  prevails  in  re- 
ligious matters,  that  to  this  day  the  Jews 
still  prefer  the  use  of  leather  and  the  roll- 
form  for  Synagogue  use.  And  though,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  oldest  dated  Hebrew 
MS.  we  possess  belongs  to  the  close  of  the 
tenth  century  after  Christ,  there  are  many 
proofs  known  to  scholars  which  show  that 
the  original  text  has  on  the  whole  been 
faithfully  preserved. 

Nor  must  we  forget  that  it  is  not  only 
in  the  original  Hebrew  that  the  books  of  the 
Old  Covenant  have  been  handed  down  to 
us.  About  two  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
the  whole  Old  Testament  was  translated 
into  Greek.  And  while  this  translation 
was  intended  primarily  for  the  Jews  of  the 
Dispersion,  it  came  to  be  largely  used  in 
Palestine  itself  by  those  to  whom  the  original 
Hebrew  was  gradually  becoming  more  and 
more  unfamiliar,  owing  to  Aramaic  having 
taken  its  place  in  general  use.  The  Septua- 
GiNT  indeed,  as  this  Greek  translation  was 
called,  may  be  said  to  have  formed  the 
Bible  of  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles,  if  we 

4 


The  Earlier  Versions 

may  judge  from  the  fact  that  the  majority 
of  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  in 
the  New  Testament  approximate  more 
closely  to  the  Greek  than  to  the  Hebrew 
version. 

As  regards  the  New  Testament,  its  books, 
in  the  form  in  which  we  have  them  now, 
were  all  written  in  the  ordinary  vernacular 
Greek  of  the  day,  and,  it  can  hardly  be 
doubted,  on  papyrus,  then  the  common 
writing  material.  Nor,  at  first,  did  any 
such  authority  or  sanctity  attach  to  them 
as  was  the  case  with  the  books  of  the  Law 
and  of  the  Prophets.  Gradually,  however, 
they  won  their  way  to  canonical  acceptance, 
until  about  the  close  of  the  second  century 
the  Christian  Church  virtually  possessed 
what  is  now  our  Bible,  with  its  two  parts, 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments,  both  of 
which  are  preserved  for  us  in  the  great 
codices  of  the  fourth  century — the  Codex 
Vaticanus  and  the  Codex  Sinaiticus. 

By  the  aid  of  these  Greek  MSS.,  and  many 
others  of  varying  degrees  of  value,  critics 
are  now  engaged  in  the  all-important  work 

5 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

of  reconstructing,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
actual  words  of  the  sacred  writers. 

In  this  task  a  welcome  aid  is  afforded 
by  the  different  versions  or  translations 
into  which  from  a  very  early  date  the 
books  of  the  Bible  were  rendered.  And 
amongst  these  there  is  one  which  has  a 
very  direct  bearing  on  our  present  in- 
quiry. 

From  the  second  century  onwards  parts 
of  the  Bible  had  appeared  in  a  Latin  dress ; 
but,  gradually,  so  many  various  readings 
and  renderings  had  sprung  up,  that,  towards 
the  close  of  the  fourth  century,  the  need  of 
an  authoritative  revision  became  apparent. 
This  task  was  accordingly  entrusted  by 
Pope  Damasus  to  Eusebius  Hieronymus, 
or  Jerome,  as  he  is  generally  called.  And 
the  result  of  his  labours  was  the  Vulgate, 
or  commonly  -  received  Latin  Text,  which 
in  the  Sixtine  -  Clementine  recension  of 
1592  is  still  the  authoritative  Scripture  of 
the  Roman  Cathclic  Church. 

It  was  this  Latin  Bible,  then,  that  St. 
Augustine  and  his  fellow  -  missionaries 
6 


The  Earlier  Versions 

brought  with  them  to  England  in  the  sixth 
century,  and  consequently  it  formed  the 
basis  of  those  Anglo-Saxon  and  Anglo- 
Norman  paraphrases  which  for  nearly  seven 
hundred  years  formed  the  only  vernacular 
versions  of  Scripture  which  the  people  in 
this  country  possessed. 

2.  The  Early  Paraphrasts  and  Wyclif. 

The  story  of  the  early  paraphrasts  is  a 
very  interesting  one,  embracing  as  it  does 
the  names  of  the  Saxon  cowherd  C^edmon, 
who,  in  the  third  quarter  of  the  seventh 
century,  in  obedience  to  a  Divine  vision, 
sang  "  the  beginning  of  created  things  "  ; 
of  the  venerable  Bede,  the  most  famous 
scholar  of  his  day  in  Western  Europe,  whose 
last  work  was  a  translation  of  the  Gospel  of 
St.  John  ;  and  of  the  priest  Aldred,  who, 
about  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century, 
wrote  an  Anglo-Saxon  word-for-word  trans- 
lation between  the  lines  of  the  Latin  Gospels 
written  at  Lindisfarne  in  honour  of  St. 
Cuthbert. 


Value  of  the   Revised  Version 

But  important  as  the  work  of  these  and 
others  was,  it  cannot  be  said  to  have  done 
more  than  famiHarize  the  minds  of  the 
people  with  the  leading  facts  in  Old  and 
New  Testament  history,  until  such  time 
as  they  should  have  the  whole  Bible  in 
their  own  hands. 

The  man  to  whom  this  was  principally 
due  was  John  Wyclif,  "  the  morning  star 
of  the  Reformation."  Struck  by  the  evils 
and  distresses  of  his  times,  WycHf  felt  that 
what,  above  all,  the  people  required  was 
^  wider  acquaintance  with  the  truths  of 
the  Gospel.  "  Christian  men,"  so  he 
wrote,  "  ought  much  to  travail  night  and 
day  about  text  of  Holy  Writ,  and  namely 
[especially]  the  Gospel  in  their  mother- 
tongue,  since  Jesus  Christ,  very  God  and 
very  man,  taught  this  Gospel  with  His 
own  blessed  mouth  and  kept  it  in  His  life." 
Accordingly,  with  the  assistance  of  his 
friend  Nicholas  de  Hereford,  he  set  to  work 
so  earnestly  at  the  task  of  translation  that  by 
the  middle  of  the  year  1382  he  had  the  joy 
of  seeing  the  whole  Scriptures  in  the  hands 
8 


The  Earlier  Versions 

of  the  people  in  a  form  they  could  under- 
stand. Six  years  later  a  revised  edition 
appeared  under  the  editorship  of  Wyclif's 
former  assistant,  John  Purvey,  introduced 
by  a  most  interesting  Prologue.  "  Since  at 
the  beginning  of  faith,"  so  Purvey  writes, 
"  so  many  men  translated  into  Latin,  and 
to  great  profit  of  Latin  men,  let  one  simple 
creature  of  God  translate  into  English,  for 
profit  of  English  men.  .  .  .  Therefore  a 
translator  hath  great  need  to  study  well 
the  sentence,  both  before  and  after,  and 
look  that  such  equivalent  words  accord 
with  the  sentence,  and  he  hath  neecj  to 
live  a  clean  life,  and  be  full  devout  in 
prayers,  and  have  not  his  wit  occupied 
about  worldly  things,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit,  author  of  wisdom,  and  knowledge, 
and  truth,  direct  him  in  his  work, 
and  suffer  him  not  to  err.  ...  By  this 
manner  with  good  living  and  great  tra- 
vail, men  may  come  to  true  and  clear 
translating,  and  true  understanding  of  Holy 
Writ,  seem  it  never  so  hard  at  the  begin- 
ning." 

9 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

We  might  have  expected  that  the  pub- 
lication of  these  versions  v^ould  have  pleased 
the  Church,  but  instead  it  aroused  the 
bitter  hostility  of  the  priests  and  others 
in  authority,  and  for  their  reward  the 
translators  had  to  look  to  the  eagerness 
w^ith  which  their  work  was  welcomed  hy 
all  classes  of  the  people. 

The  new  versions  were  indeed  admirably 
suited  for  popular  use  by  the  homeliness 
and  direction  of  their  diction,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  following  examples  from  Purvey's 
revision  of  St.  Matthew  :  "  Twey  men 
metten  hym,  that  hadden  deuelis,  and 
camen  out  of  graues,  ful  woode  [mad] " 
(viii.  28)  ;  "  And  loo !  in  a  greet  hire 
[rush]  al  the  droue  wente  heedlyng  in  to  the 
see  "  (viii.  32)  ;  "A  leche  is  not  nedeful 
to  men  that  faren  wel,  but  to  men  that  ben 
yuel  at  ese  "  (ix.  12)  ;  "  Lo  !  my  child, 
whom  Y  haue  chosun,  my  derling  "  (xii.  18)  ; 
"  And  he  cometh,  and  fyndith  it  voide,  and 
clensid  with  besyms  [brooms],  and  maad 
faire  "  (xii.  44)  ;  "  And  the  boot  in  the 
myddel  of  the  see  was  schoggid  with  wawis  " 
10 


The  Earlier  Versions 

(xiv.  24).  From  the  earlier  version,  it  will 
be  of  interest  to  cite  Wyclif's  rendering  of 
the  Lord's  Prayer  : 

"  Oure  fader  that  art  in  heuenes,  halowide 
be  thi  name ;  thi  kyngdom  come  to";  be 
thi  wille  done  as  in  heuene  and  in  erthe  ; 
zif  to  vs  this  day  oure  brede  ouer  other 
substaunce  ;  and  forzyue  to  vs  oure  dettis, 
as  we  forzyuen  to  oure  dottours ;  and  leede 
vs  not  in  to  temptacon,  but  delyuer  vs 
fro  al  euyl.     Amen  "  (Matt.  vi.  9-13). 

It  will  be  noted  that  Wyclif  rightly  omits 
the  doxology  at  the  end  in  accordance  with 
the  Latin  text  from  which  he  was  trans- 
lating, which  in  this  particular  is  closer  to 
the  original,  as  our  Revised  Version  shows, 
than  many  of  the  late  Greek  MSS.  which 
subsequent  translators  used.  On  the  other 
hand,  both  his  and  Purvey's  versions  un- 
doubtedly suffered  greatly  from  being  only 
translations  of  a  translation ;  while  the 
fact  that  they  were  prepared  entirely  by 
hand  necessarily  made  copies  very  expensive, 
as  much  as  ^30  or  ^40  of  our  money  being 
sometimes  paid  for  a  complete  copy. 
II 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 


3.  The  Invention  of  Printing  and 

TiNDALE. 

The  publication  in  the  first  half  of  the 
fourteenth  century  of  the  Biblia  Pauperum, 
a  series  of  rough  woodcuts  with  texts  from 
Scripture  attached,  did  something,  no  doubt, 
in  the  way  of  spreading  a  knowledge  of  Bible 
History  amongst  the  people.  But  the  in- 
struction these  books  conveyed  was  small, 
and  it  is  to  two  other  events  that  we  must 
principally  look  for  the  preparation  by 
which  the  appearance  of  our  next  version 
was  heralded. 

One  was  the  Invention  of  Printing.  About 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Fust,  a 
goldsmith  of  Mainz,  perfecting  Gutenberg's 
experiments,  issued  from  the  Press  the  first 
printed  Latin  Bible,  generally  known  as 
the  Mazarin  Bible,  from  a  copy  found  in 
the  library  of  Cardinal  Mazarin.  The  new 
discovery  soon  spread,  and  of  the  Latin 
Bible  alone  ninety-one  editions  were  issued 
before  the  close  of  the  century. 
12 


The  Earlier  Versions 

The  other  was  the  Revival  of  Learning. 
By  the  fall  of  Constantinople  in  1453,  Greek 
scholars  were  driven  westward,  and  a  fresh 
era  began  in  the  study  of  Greek.  The 
result  was  the  appearance  of  Erasmus' 
Greek  Testament  at  Basle  in  15 16,  which 
in  matter  of  publication,  though  not  of 
actual  printing,  antedated  by  several  years 
the  New  Testament  in  the  Complutensian 
Polyglot  edition  of  Cardinal  Ximenes.  New 
editions  of  the  Hebrew  Old  Testament, 
along  with  Hebrew  and  Greek  Grammars, 
also  began  to  appear,  offering  invaluable 
aids  for  the  work  of  translation.  And 
with  the  hour  came  the  man. 

It  is  impossible  to  sketch  even  in  out- 
line the  romantic  story  of  William  Tindale 
(1490-15  36).  It  must  be  enough  that 
from  the  hour  when  in  controversy  with 
a  Roman  Catholic  opponent  he  exclaimed, 
"  If  God  spare  my  life,  ere  many  years  I 
will  cause  a  boy  that  drive th  the  plough 
shall  know  more  of  the  Scriptures  than  thou 
doest,"  until  the  day — 6th  October  1536 — 
when   he    died   a    martyr   at    the    stake   at 

13 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

Vilvorde  near  Brussels,  his  whole  energies 
were  directed  to  his  self-imposed  task.  It 
was  in  exile  that  that  task  was  performed, 
for,  as  he  pathetically  remarks,  ''  there  was 
no  place  to  do  it  in  all  England."  Volun- 
tarily, therefore,  he  left  his  native  land, 
never  to  see  it  again ;  and  after  passing 
through  various  vicissitudes  and  dangers,  at 
length  at  Worms,  in  the  year  1525,  produced 
the  first  complete  printed  New  Testament 
in  EngHsh.  Copies,  both  in  the  original 
quarto  and  in  a  smaller  octavo  edition, 
were  at  once  forwarded  to  England  ;  but 
warning  of  their  coming  had  already  been 
sent,  and  thousands  of  copies  were  seized 
and  burnt  at  the  old  Cross  of  St.  Paul's.^ 
It  was  only  what  Tindale  had  expected. 
"  In  burning  the  New  Testament,"  he 
wrote,  two  years  later,  "  they  did  none 
^  Only  three  copies  now  survive :  one  a  fragment  of 
the  quarto  edition,  containing  the  Prologue  and  St.  Matt. 
i.  i-xxii.  12  in  the  Grenville  Room  of  the  British 
Museum,  and  two  copies  of  the  octavo  edition,  one,  wanting 
only  the  title-page,  in  the  Library  of  the  Baptist  College 
at  Bristol,  and  the  other,  more  defective,  in  the  Library 
of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  London. 


The  Earlier  Versions 

other  thing  than  that  I  looked  for  :  no 
more  shall  they  do  if  they  burn  me  also, 
if  it  be  God's  will  that  it  shall  so  be." 
Thanks,  however,  to  the  printing-press, 
the  place  of  the  burnt  copies  was  soon 
supplied,  and  the  new  version  was  scattered 
broadcast  over  the  land.  Thus  in  1528 
one  Robert  Necton  confessed  to  carrying 
on  a  regular  work  of  colportage,  selling  the 
New  Testaments  at  2S.  or  2s.  6d.  bound,  or, 
according  to  the  present  value  of  the  money, 
j^i,  los.  or  ^i,  17s.  6d.  each.  And  there  is 
further  evidence  that  '^  divers  merchants  of 
Scotland  bought  many  of  such  books,  and 
took  them  to  Scotland,  a  part  to  Edinburgh, 
and  most  part  to  the  town  of  St.  Andrews." 

Meanwhile  the  translator  was  continuing 
his  work  abroad,  and  in  1530  there  appeared 
a  translation  of  the  Pentateuch  with  char- 
acteristic Prologues  to  the  several  books, ^ 
and  four  years  later  a  revised  edition  of  the 
New  Testament  was  published  at  Antwerp 

1  Thus  the  opening  Prologue  begins :  '*  Though  a 
man  had  a  precious  iuell  and  a  rich,  yet  if  he  wiste  not 
the  value  thereof  nor  wherfore  it  served,  he  were  nother 

IS 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

with  the  title,  "  The  Newe  Testament 
dylygently  corrected  and  compared  with 
the  Greek  by  Willyam  Tindale."  To  this 
edition  certain  Old  Testament  lessons  were 
attached  and  a  Preface  in  which  the  trans- 
lator called  upon  all  men  to  read  his  trans- 
lation "  for  that  purpose  I  wrote  it,  even  to 
bring  them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Scrip- 
ture," adding,  with  characteristic  humility, 
a  request  to  all  who  found  any  fault  in 
his  work  to  show  it  to  him  that  he  might 
amend  it.  The  result  was  that  in  the 
following  year  there  appeared  a  fresh  issue 
of  the  1534  Testament,  "  yet  once  agayne 
corrected  by  Willyam  Tindale,"  the  very 
minuteness  of  many  of  the  changes  affording 
striking  witness  of  the  translator's  desire 
for  the  most  scrupulous  accuracy.  It  was 
all  in  keeping  with  the  inmost  spirit  of  his 
whole  work,  as  he  himself  had  declared 
that  spirit  in  writing  to  his  friend  Fryth 

the  better  nor  rycher  of  a  straw.  Even  so  though  we  read 
the  scripture  and  bable  of  it  never  so  moch,  yet  if  we 
know  not  the  use  of  it,  and  wherfore  it  was  geven,  and 
what  is  therin  to  be  sought,  it  profiteth  vs  nothinge  at  all." 

16 


The  Earlier  Versions 

two  years  before  :  "  I  call  God  to  record 
against  the  day  we  shall  appear  before  our 
Lord  Jesus,  to  give  a  reckoning  of  our 
doings,  that  I  never  altered  one  syllable 
of  God's  word  against  my  conscience,  nor 
would  this  day,  if  all  that  is  in  the  earth, 
whether  it  be  pleasure,  honour,  or  riches, 
might  be  given  me." 

But  the  heroic  life  was  drawing  to  its 
close.  Tindale  had  many  enemies  in  Eng- 
land, and  now  when  the  Royal  Envoy  was 
instructed  to  decoy  him  to  return,  he  would 
not  venture.  "  If  it  would  stand,"  so  he 
pleaded  in  eloquent  and  pathetic  terms, 
"  with  the  King's  most  gracious  pleasure 
to  grant  only  a  bare  text  of  the  Scripture 
to  be  put  forth  among  his  people  ...  I 
shall  immediately  make  faithful  promise 
never  to  write  more,  nor  abide  two  days  in 
these  parts  after  the  same  ;  but  immediately 
to  repair  into  his  realm,  and  there  most 
humbly  submit  myself  at  the  feet  of  his  Royal 
Majesty,  offering  my  body  to  suffer  what 
pain  or  torture,  yea,  what  death  his  Grace 
will,  so  that  this  be  obtained."     The  self- 

17 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

sacrificing  plea  was  of  no  avail ;  and  soon 
afterwards  he  was  betrayed  into  the  hands 
of  his  enemies  by  an  unprincipled  English- 
man named  Philipps,  and,  after  suffering 
an  imprisonment  of  nearly  a  year  and  a  half, 
was  first  strangled  and  then  burned.  His 
last  words  were,  "  Lord,  open  the  King  of 
England's  eyes." 

Of  Tindale's  worth  as  a  man,  and  of  his 
unwearied  efforts  in  the  cause  of  Bible 
translation  and  Bible  diffusion,  the  little 
that  we  have  been  able  to  say  is  sufficient 
proof.  On  his  place  as  a  scholar  it  is  im- 
possible to  enter.  It  must  be  enough  that 
while  his  version  undoubtedly  bore  traces 
of  the  influence  of  the  Wyclifite  versions 
at  home  and  of  Luther's  Testament  in 
Germany,  he  was  too  good  a  linguist  to 
be  slavishly  dependent  on  any  one,  and  can 
justly  claim  the  credit  of  being  the  first 
in  England  at  any  rate  (with  the  possible 
exception  of  Bede)  to  go  straight  to  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek  originals.  While,  as 
showing  in  turn  the  extent  of  his  influence 
upon  the  future  history  of  our  Bible,  it 
i8 


The  Earlier  Versions 

has  been  calculated  that  in  the  whole  of  his 
New  Testament  there  are  not  more  than 
350  words  which  do  not  occur  in  the  Author- 
ized Version,  and  many  of  the  latter's  most 
happy  phrases  and  sentences  are  directly 
traceable  to  the  old  translator.  No  doubt 
Tindale's  version  had  its  faults,  chief  among 
them  perhaps  his  love,  for  the  sake  of 
variety,  of  rendering  the  same  Greek  word 
in  different  ways.  But  take  his  work  all  in 
all,  and  Fuller's  eulogy  is  not  exaggerated  : 
"  What  he  undertook  was  to  be  admired 
as  glorious ;  what  he  performed,  to  be  com- 
mended as  profitable ;  wherein  he  failed, 
is  to  be  excused  as  pardonable,  and  to  be 
scored  on  the  account  rather  of  that  age, 
than  of  the  author  himself.'' 


19 


II 

THE  LATER  VERSIONS 

I.  Coverdale's  Bible. 

TiNDALE  had  not  left  himself  without 
worthy  successors,  foremost  amongst  whom 
was  one  Miles  Coverdale  (1488-1569),  who 
had  already  assisted  Tindale  in  his  transla- 
tion of  the  Pentateuch,  and  who  now,  urged 
on  by  Thomas  Cromwell,  set  himself  so  dili- 
gently to  work  that  in  1535,  probably  at 
Zurich,  the  first  complete  Bible  printed  in 
English  was  issued  from  the  press. 

In  his  Dedication  to  Henry  viii.  Cover- 
dale  modestly  disclaims  the  position  of  an 
independent  translator,  and  speaks  of  having 
"  purely  and  faythfully  "  followed  "  fyue 
sundry  interpreters,"  who  are  generally 
identified  with  Luther,  the  Zurich  Bible, 
the  Vulgate,  the  Latin  version  of  Pagninus, 
20 


The  Later  Versions 

and  Tindale.     At   the   same    time   he   was 
very  far  from  being  a  mere  "  proof-reader 
or   corrector "    of    the   labour    of   his   pre- 
decessors.    His    work    possesses    undoubted 
original  value  ;    and  if  Tindale  in  his  trans- 
lation "  gave    us    the    first    great    outhne 
distinctly  and  wonderfully  etched,"  Cover- 
dale  "  added  those  minuter  touches  which 
soften  and  harmonize    it."     Thus,  for  ex- 
ample, to  turn  to  his  version  of  the  Psalms, 
which  may  still  be  read  almost  unchanged 
in  the  EngHsh  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  it 
is  to  Coverdale  that  we  owe  such  musical 
renderings    as,    "  My    flesh    and    my   heart 
faileth,  but  God  is  the  strength  of  my  heart, 
and  my  portion  for  ever."     "  Cast  me  not 
away   from    Thy    presence,    and    take    not 
Thy   Holy   Spirit   from   me."     "  For   Thy 
lovingkindness  is  better   than  life  ;    my  lips 
shall  praise  Thee."     While,  as  illustrations 
of  the  man  and  of  the  time,  the  following 
quaint  renderings  may  be  given — "  bare  it 
in  hir  nebb  "  (Gen.  viii.  1 1) ;   "  cast  a  pece  of 
a   mylstone   upon   Abimelech's   heade,   and 
brake   his   brane   panne "    Qudg.    ix.    53)  ; 
21 


Value  of  the   Revised  Version 

"  the  foolish  bodyes  saye  in  their  hertes  : 
Tush,  there  is  no  God  "  (Ps.  xiv.  i)  ;  "  there 
is  no  more  Triacle  at  Galaad  "  (Jer.  viii.  22). 

2.  Other  Sixteenth-Century  Versions. 

Other  translations  now  followed  in  rapid 
succession,  one  of  which  is  generally  known 
as  Matthew's  Bible  (1537).  Its  real  editor, 
however,  was  a  certain  John  Rogers,  after- 
wards the  proto-martyr  in  the  Marian 
persecution,  who  perhaps  adopted  the  alias 
of  Thomas  Matthew  to  hide  his  connexion 
with  Tindale.  For  the  whole  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  about  half  of  the  Old 
Testament,  are  really  Tindale's  work,  while 
the  remainder  is  Coverdale's.  Like  the 
second  edition  of  Coverdale's  Bible,  the 
new  edition  bears  to  be  "  set  forth  with  the 
Kinges  most  gracious  lycece,"  and  Crom- 
well, instigated  by  Cranmer,  further  ob- 
tained Henry  viii.'s  permission  that  "  the 
same  may  be  sold  and  read  of  every  person, 
without  danger  of  any  act,  proclamation, 
or  ordinance  heretofore  granted  to  the 
22 


The  Later  Versions 

ordinary."  Hence  it  came  about  that  "  by 
Cranmer's  petition,  by  Crumwell's  influence, 
and  by  Henry's  authority,  without  any 
formal  ecclesiastical  decision,  the  book  was 
given  to  the  English  people,  which  is  the 
foundation  of  the  text  of  our  present 
Bible.  From  Matthew's  Bible — itself  a 
combination  of  the  labours  of  Tindale 
and  Coverdale  —  all  later  revisions  have 
been  successively  formed."  ^ 

Not  yet  satisfied  with  any  of  the  existing 
versions,  Cromwell  called  in  the  aid  of 
Coverdale  to  prepare  yet  another  version, 
which  might  rank  as  a  National  Bible. 
The  work  of  printing  was  begun  in  Paris, 
but  before  it  was  completed  the  Inquisition 
stepped  in,  and  it  was  with  great  difficulty 
that  the  precious  sheets  were  saved  and  the 
presses  sent  over  to  England.  There  the 
work  was  soon  finished,  and  in  April  1539 
the  Great  Bible,  as  being  the  Bible  "  in  the 
largest  volume,"  was  issued  from  the  press. 

^  Westcott,  A  General  V'leiv  of  the  History  of  the 
English  Bible f  new  edition  by  W.  A.  Wright,  London, 
1905,  p.  7 if. 

23 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

In  1540  a  new  edition  was  called  for, 
containing  a  long  Preface  by  Archbishop 
Cranmer,  which  has  led  to  its  being  called 
Cranmer's  Bible,  while  five  other  editions 
followed  rapidly  within  the  next  eighteen 
months. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  get  the  people 
to  accept  the  new  version,  Cromwell,  as  the 
king's  vicegerent,  issuing  instructions  to  the 
clergy  to  provide  without  delay  "  one  boke 
of  the  whole  Bible  of  the  largest  volume 
in  Englyshe,"  to  be  set  up  in  the  churches, 
and  to  "  expresslye  provoke,  stere  [stir],  and 
exhorte  every  parsone  [person]  to  rede  the 
same,  as  that  whyche  ys  the  verye  lively 
worde  of  God."  Whatever  the  clergy  may 
have  thought,  the  opportunity  thus  afforded 
was  gladly  taken  advantage  of  by  the  people, 
and  in  the  aisle  of  some  country  church  it 
was  a  common  sight  to  see  an  eager  crowd 
gathered  round  the  chained  Bible,  while 
some  one  more  educated  than  the  rest  read 
aloud. 

We  must  not,  however,  imagine  that  this 
open  reading  of  the  Scriptures  was  every- 

24 


The  Later  Versions 

where  viewed  with  favour.  Thus,  to  con- 
fine ourselves  to  what  took  place  in  Scotland, 
on  1st  March  1539,  through  the  influence  of 
Cardinal  Beaton,  five  persons  were  burnt 
on  the  Castle  Hill  of  Edinburgh,  apparently 
for  no  other  crime  than  that  they  "  did  not 
hesitate  to  study  the  books  both  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament."  And  at  the 
trial  of  one  of  them,  the  Bishop  of  Dunkeld 
actually  made  it  a  subject  of  boasting — "  I 
thank  God  that  I  never  knew  what  the  Old 
or  New  Testament  was."  This  deplorable 
state  of  matters  was  not,  however,  long 
allowed  to  continue.  In  1543  it  was  pro- 
posed in  the  Parliament  meeting  at  Edin- 
burgh that  "  all  the  lieges  in  this  realm  may 
read  the  Scriptures  in  our  native  tongue," 
and  proclamation  to  the  above  effect  was 
duly  made  at  the  Market  Cross.  And  so 
eagerly  was  the  privilege  taken  advantage 
of,  that  twenty-five  years  later  John  Knox 
in  describing  the  effects  of  this  Act  was  able 
to  write  :  "  This  was  no  small  victory  of 
Christ  Jesus.  .  .  .  Then  might  have  been 
seen    the    Bible    lying    almost    upon    every 

25 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

gentleman's  table.  The  New  Testament 
was  borne  about  in  many  men's  hands." 

The  Bible  to  which  Knox  refers  in  these 
words  was  one  in  whose  production  he 
himself  in  all  probability  had  a  share,  though 
for  its  story  we  must  turn  from  Scotland 
to  Geneva. 

In  the  troublous  times  following  the 
accession  of  Queen  Mary,  a  number  of  the 
leading  Reformers  had  taken  refuge  in  the 
city  of  Calvin  and  Beza,  and  there,  as  they 
themselves  tell  us,  "  We  thought  we  could 
bestow  our  labours  and  study  in  nothing 
which  could  be  more  acceptable  to  God, 
and  comfortable  to  His  Church,  than  in  the 
translating  of  the  Scriptures  into  our  native 
tongue." 

The  result  was  that  in  1560  there  appeared 
the  famous  Genevan  Bible,  often  familiarly 
known  as  the  Breeches  Bible  from  its 
rendering  of  Gen.  iii.  7,  "  They  sewed  fig- 
tree  leaves  together,  and  made  themselves 
breeches." 

The  translation,  as  a  whole,  was  due  to 
the  combined  labours  of  William  Whitting- 
26 


The  Later  Versions 

ham,  Thomas  Sampson,  and  Anthony  Gilby, 
and  deserves  high  praise  from  the  care  that 
was  bestowed  upon  it.  Many  of  its  render- 
ings were  very  feHcitous,  and  have  passed 
through  it  into  the  Authorized  Version,  while 
its  numerous  notes,  combined  with  the  con- 
venient size  in  which  it  appeared,  did  much 
to  account  for  the  popularity  it  long  enjoyed. 
It  was  not  to  be  expected,  however,  that 
the  successors  of  Cromwell  and  Cranmer 
would  look  with  favour  on  a  translation 
from  the  school  of  Calvin,  and  containing 
so  many  "  prejudicial  notes."  Accordingly, 
in  1563-64,  Archbishop  Parker  set  on  foot 
a  scheme  for  the  revision  of  Coverdale's 
version,  and  in  1568  the  Bishops'  Bible, 
so  called  from  the  number  of  bishops  en- 
gaged on  it,  was  completed,  and  a  copy 
presented  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  An  effort 
was  made  at  the  same  time  that  it  alone 
should  be  licensed  "  to  draw  to  one  uni- 
formity." But  this  Hcence  was  never 
granted,  and  any  authority  which  the  new 
version  enjoyed  was  due  to  episcopal, 
rather  than  to  royal,  support.  As  a  trans- 
27 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

lation,  indeed,  the  Bishops'  Bible  suffered 
from  the  inequality  inevitable  to  a  work 
which  had  been  produced  by  a  number  of 
independent  workers,  but  it  is  hardly  fair 
to  characterize  it  as  "  the  most  unsatis- 
factory and  useless  of  all  the  old  trans- 
lations." ^  On  the  contrary,  various  por- 
tions of  it  are  marked  by  a  careful  study 
of  the  Greek  original,  and  not  a  few  of  the 
variations  from  previous  translations,  intro- 
duced by  its  editors,  have  found  their  way 
into  the  Authorized  Version. 

Before,  however,  we  come  to  this  version, 
there  is  still  another  translation  to  be 
noticed,  which,  like  Tindale's  and  the 
Genevan,  was  produced  in  exile.  At  the 
beginning  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign, 
certain  English  Roman  Catholics  had  taken 
refuge  on  the  Continent,  and  to  three  of 
these  refugees — William  Allen,  Gregory 
Martin,  and  Richard  Bristow — the  credit 
of  the  new  version  principally  belongs. 

The  first  part  to  appear  was  the  New 
Testament,  "  translated  faithfully  into  Eng- 

1  Lovett,  The  Printed  English  Bible ^  p.  I20. 
28 


The  Later  Versions 

lish  out  of  the  authentical  Latin,  according 
to  the  best  corrected  copies  of  the  same, 
dihgently  conferred  with  the  Greeke  and 
other  editions  in  divers  languages."  This 
was  pubHshed  in  Rheims  in  1582,  and  was 
followed  in  1609-10  by  the  publication  at 
Douai  of  the  Old  Testament  which  had 
been  previously  completed,  but  had  been 
kept  back  "  for  lack  of  good  meanes." 
From  its  extreme  adherence  to  "  the  old 
vulgar  approved  Latin,"  the  Rheims  and 
Douai  Bible  is  often  very  stilted  in  ex- 
pression and  in  style,  while  its  markedly 
polemical  notes  would  in  themselves  have 
prevented  its  gaining  anything  like  general 
acceptance. 

3.  The  Authorized  Version. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century  then,  we  meet  with  three  versions 
of  the  Bible  in  more  or  less  general  use. 
There  was  the  Great  Bible  of  Henry  viii., 
still  to  be  seen  chained  to  the  desk  in  many 
country  churches ;  there  was  the  Genevan 
29 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

Bible,  the  favourite  Bible  of  the  people  ; 
and  there  was  the  Bishops'  Bible,  sup- 
ported by  ecclesiastical  authority.  Such 
a  state  of  things  could  not,  however,  con- 
tinue, and  the  way  lay  open  for  the  advent 
of  a  new  version,  which  was  gradually  to 
supersede  all  its  rivals,  and  become  for 
three  centuries  the  Bible  of  all  English- 
speaking  peoples. 

Regarding  this  version,  it  is  certainly 
strange,  considering  its  importance,  how 
little  is  known  regarding  its  origin,  which 
is  generally  traced  to  a  chance  remark  of 
Reynolds,  the  Puritan  leader,  at  the 
Hampton  Court  Conference  convened  by 
King  James  vi.  in  1604,  "  that  there  might 
be  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible  because 
those  which  were  allowed  in  the  reign  of 
King  Henry  viii.  and  Edward  vi.  were 
corrupt  and  not  answerable  to  the  truth  of 
the  original."  But  it  is  interesting  to 
notice  that,  so  far  at  least  as  the  King  was 
concerned,  the  way  had  been  prepared  three 
years  before  by  certain  proceedings  at  a 
meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
30 


The   Later  Versions 

Church  of  Scotland  at  Burntisland,  at 
which  he  was  present.  On  that  occasion 
a  similar  proposal  "  for  a  new  translation 
of  the  Bible,  and  the  correcting  of  the 
Psalmes  in  meeter  "  was  thrown  out,  and 
the  historian  Spottiswood  has  told  us 
that  "  his  majesty  did  urge  it  earnestly, 
and  with  many  reasons  did  persuade  the 
undertaking  of  the  work,  showing  the 
necessity  and  the  profit  of  it.  .  .  .  Speaking 
of  the  necessity,  he  did  mention  certain 
escapes  in  the  common  translation,  .  .  . 
and  when  he  came  to  speak  of  the  Psalms, 
did  recite  whole  verses  of  the  same,  showing 
both  the  faults  of  the  metre  and  the  discrep- 
ance from  the  text.  It  was  the  joy  of  all 
that  were  present  to  hear  it,  and  bred  not 
little  admiration  in  the  whole  Assembly."  ^ 
And  though  nothing  further  came  of  this  at 
the  time,  the  idea  of  revision  was  certainly 
suggested  to  James's  mind,  and  we  can 
understand  the  eagerness  with  which  at 
Hampton  Court  he  fell  in  with  Reynolds's 

1  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland^  Edinburgh  edition, 
1850,  iii.  p.  98. 

31 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

suggestion,  and  expressed  the  wish  that 
"  some  especial  pains  should  be  taken  in 
that  behalf  for  one  uniform  translation ; 
professing  that  he  could  never  yet  see  a 
Bible  well  translated  in  English,  but  the 
worst  of  all  his  Majesty  thought  the  Geneva 
to  be."  Nor  was  this  all,  but  James  showed 
an  active  interest  in  the  work  by  proposing 
that  the  new  translation  should  be  under- 
taken by  "  the  best  learned  in  both  the 
universities,  after  them  to  be  reviewed  by 
the  bishops  and  the  chief  learned  of  the 
Church;  from  them  to  be  presented  to  the 
Privy  Council ;  and  lastly  to  be  ratified 
by  his  royal  authority ;  and  so  this  whole 
Church  to  be  bound  unto  it  and  none 
other." 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  Royal 
favour  bestowed  upon  it,  the  actual  work 
was  not  commenced  until  1607,  and  it  was 
1 61 1  before  the  new  version  was  published. 
Its  title  ran  : 

"  The  Holy  Bible,  conteyning  the  Old 
Testament,  and  the  New :  Newly  Trans- 
lated out  of  the  Originall  tongues  :   &  with 

32 


The  Later  Versions 

the  former  Translations  diligently  com- 
pared and  reuised  by  his  Maiesties  speciall 
Comandement.  Appointed  to  be  read  in 
Churches.  Imprinted  at  London  by  Robert 
Barker,  Printer  to  the  Kings  Most  Excellent 
Maiestie.     Anno  Dom.  1611." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  word 
Authorized,  by  which  the  new  version 
has  come  to  be  known,  is  not  here  appHed 
to  it,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  no 
evidence  that  it  was  ever  pubHcly  sanctioned 
by  Convocation,  or  by  ParHament,  or  by 
the  King.  Only  slowly,  and  by  the  force 
of  superior  merit,  did  King  James's  version 
attain  its  commanding  position.  It  became 
the  "  authorized  "  version,  simply  because  it 
was  the  best. 

Nor  indeed  was  it,  strictly  speaking,  a 
new  translation,  but  rather  a  revision  of 
the  principal  versions  that  had  preceded  it. 
And,  consequently,  through  the  Bibles  of 
the  Reformation  period,  through  Tindale, 
through  Wyclif,  even  through  the  early 
paraphrasts,  it  links  itself  step  by  step  with 
some   of   the   most   stirring   events   in   our 

33 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

national  history,  and  has  obtained  a  hold 
over  the  national  mind  and  consciousness 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  any  other 
English  translation. 

Of  the  general  character   of  their  work 
the    Translators    themselves    have    given    a 
most    interesting    account    in    the    striking 
Preface,   originally  attached  to  their  work, 
which  is  understood  to  have  been  written 
chiefly   by   Dr.    Miles    Smith.     Thus    they 
assure  us  in  the  clearest  manner  that  they 
set  themselves  not  "  to  make  a  new  trans- 
lation, nor  yet  to  make  of  a  bad  one  a  good 
one  .  .  .  but  to  make  a  good  one  better,  or 
out  of  many  good  ones  one  principal  good 
one,   not   justly   to   be    excepted    against." 
And  in  order  to  secure  this,  they  add  that 
they  were  in  the  first   instance  careful  to 
compare  the  renderings  of  the  Bishops'  Bible, 
which  formed  the  basis  of  their  work,  with 
the  original  Hebrew  and  Greek — "  the  two 
golden   pipes,    or    rather    conduits,    where- 
through  the   olive   branches   empty   them- 
selves  into  the  gold.  ...  If  truth  be   to 
be    tried    by   these   tongues,    then    whence 

34 


The  Later  Versions 

should  a  translation  be  made,  but  out  of 
them  ?  " 

The  result  is  that  in  the  Authorized 
Version  we  find  many  literal  and  exact 
renderings  introduced  for  the  first  time, 
while  the  appropriateness  of  the  vocabulary 
and  the  beauty  of  the  style  have  gained  for 
it  a  hold  over  the  national  mind  and  con- 
sciousness unparalleled  in  the  history  of  any 
previous  version. 

None,  indeed,  have  shown  themselves 
more  ready  to  admit  the  commanding  merits 
of  the  Authorized  Version  than  those  who 
in  1870  were  appointed  to  revise  it.  "  We," 
so  the  New  Testament  revisers  tell  us  in 
their  Preface,  "  have  had  to  study  this 
great  Version  carefully  and  minutely,  line 
by  line ;  and  the  longer  we  have  been 
engaged  upon  it  the  more  we  have  learned 
to  admire  its  simplicity,  its  dignity,  its 
power,  its  happy  turns  of  expression,  its 
general  accuracy,  and,  we  must  not  fail  to 
add,  the  music  of  its  cadences,  and  the 
felicities  of  its  rhythm."  And  the  testi- 
mony of  Faber,  after  his  secession  to  the 

35 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

Church  of  Rome,  to  the  same  effect  is  often 
quoted.  Speaking  of  the  marvellous  English 
of  the  Authorized  Version,  he  says  :  "  It 
lives  on  the  ear  like  a  music  that  can  never 
be  forgotten,  like  the  sound  of  church  bells 
which  the  convert  scarcely  knows  how  he 
can  forgo.  Its  felicities  often  seem  to  be 
things  rather  than  words.  It  is  part  of 
the  national  mind,  and  the  anchor  of  the 
national  seriousness.  .  .  .  The  memory  of 
the  dead  passes  into  it.  The  potent  tradi- 
tions of  childhood  are  stereotyped  in  its 
verses.  It  is  the  representative  of  a  man's 
best  moments ;  all  that  there  has  been 
about  him  of  soft  and  gentle  and  pure  and 
penitent  and  good,  speaks  to  him  for  ever 
out  of  his  EngHsh  Bible." 

4.  The  Revised  Version. 

In  these  circumstances  the  very  idea 
of  revision  might  well  seem  to  have  been 
presumptuous.  And  yet  there  were  not  a 
few  circumstances  which,  towards  the  close 
of    the    nineteenth    century,    combined    to 

36 


The  Later  Versions 

render  such  a  task  not  only  advisable  but 
necessary,  if  the  English  reader  was  to  be 
in  the  best  possible  position  for  having  the 
exact  sense  of  the  original  before  him. 

For  one  thing,  as  we  shall  see  more  fully 
afterwards,  many  of  the  English  words  used 
by  the  Translators  of  1611  had  become 
antiquated,  or  in  the  course  of  three 
centuries  had  so  changed  in  meaning  as  no 
longer  to  be  understood  in  the  manner  that 
was  at  first  intended.  And  what  is  more 
important,  earlier  and  better  texts  of  the 
original  had  become  available,  involving 
many  important  changes  of  reading.  Thus, 
to  confine  ourselves  to  the  New  Testament, 
while  the  Translators  of  161 1  had  access 
only  to  a  few  late  Greek  manuscripts,  at 
least  two  manuscripts  of  the  highest  im- 
portance, belonging  to  the  fourth  century, 
were  now  available.  The  knowledge  of  the 
versions  of  the  Early  Church  had  also 
greatly  increased,  and  vastly  improved  aids 
in  the  matter  of  Lexicons  and  Grammars 
had  placed  scholars  in  a  far  more  favourable 
position  than  any  of  their  predecessors  for 

37 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

removing   the  inaccuracies  that  had  crept 
into  previous  translations. 

In  consequence,  numerous  changes  had 
from  time  to  time  been  silently  introduced 
into  successive  issues  of  the  Authorized 
Version,  while  various  private  attempts  at 
revision  had  done  much  to  prepare  the  minds 
of  people  for  some  more  comprehensive 
scheme.  It  was  not,  however,  until  May 
1870  that  that  scheme  matured,  when, 
acting  on  a  report  of  a  Committee  appointed 
in  the  preceding  February  to  consider  the 
matter,  the  Convocation  of  the  Province  of 
Canterbury  decided  to  "  nominate  a  body 
of  its  own  members  to  undertake  the  work 
of  revision,  who  shall  be  at  liberty  to  invite 
the  co-operation  of  any  eminent  for  scholar- 
ship, to  whatever  nation  or  religious  body 
they  may  belong." 

For  the  Rules  drawn  up  for  the  Revisers' 
guidance,  and  for  the  manner  in  which  they 
carried  through  their  work,  it  must  be 
enough  to  refer  to  their  own  Prefaces,  but 
pointed  attention  may  be  drawn  to  the 
importance  of  taking  note,  not  only  of  the 

38 


The  Later  Versions 

new  renderings  in  the  text,  but  of  the 
marginal  alternatives.  The  Revisers  had 
been  instructed  "  to  make  or  retain  no 
change  in  the  Text  on  the  second  final 
revision  by  each  Company,  except  two 
thirds  of  those  present  approve  of  the  same," 
and  the  result  v^^as  that  many  important 
emendations,  that  had  approved  themselves 
to  what  we  may  call  the  more  "  progressive  " 
section  of  the  Revisers,  having  failed  to 
secure  the  necessary  support,  were  rele- 
gated to  the  margin.  The  strength  of  the 
evidence  for  these  alternative  readings  is, 
however,  becoming  increasingly  recognized, 
and  when  accordingly  the  University  Presses 
recently  issued  an  edition  of  the  Revised 
Version  without  these  marginal  notes,  they 
did  a  grave  wrong  to  one  of  the  most  valuable 
portions  of  the  Revisers'  work.^ 

1  The  most  useful  edition  of  the  Revised  New  Testa- 
ment for  students  is  undoubtedly  the  edition  "  with  Fuller 
References,"  which  was  published  in  19 lo,  incorpora- 
ting a  body  of  references  originally  prepared  for  the  New 
Testament  Company  by  two  of  their  number,  and  enabling 
the  reader,  with  an  accuracy  and  completeness  unknown 
before,  to  compare  Scripture  with  Scripture. 

39 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

To  return,  however,  to  the  work  itself. 
The  first  part  to  be  completed  was  the  New 
Testament,  which,  after  more  than  ten 
years  of  unremitting  labour,  was  published 
in  1 88 1,  to  be  followed  four  years  later  by 
the  Revised  Old  Testament.  The  title  of 
the  completed  work,  which,  though  only 
one  in  a  long  series  of  revisions,  has  come 
to  be  known  as  far  excellence  the  Revised 
Version,  ran  simply  : 

"The  Holy  Bible  containing  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  translated  out  of  the 
original  tongues  :  being  the  version  set 
forth  A.D.  1611  compared  with  the  most 
ancient  authorities  and  revised." 

It  might  have  been  expected  that,  if 
only  on  the  ground  of  its  greater  faithful- 
ness to  the  original,  the  new  version  would 
speedily  have  supplanted  the  old  in  general 
use.  But  whether  it  be  owing  to  a  natural 
conservatism  with  regard  to  a  version, 
hallowed  by  so  long  a  history  and  by  so 
many  sacred  memories,  or  to  certain 
blemishes  of  force  and  style  often  attributed 
to  the  Revised  Version  itself,  this  has  not 
40 


The  Later  Versions 

proved  to  be  the  case.  And  there  seems 
to  be  a  growing  danger  that  even  students 
will  not  continue  to  avail  themselves  so 
fully  as  they  ought  of  the  invaluable  assist- 
ance which  the  new  version  brings  within 
their  reach. 

It  is  to  try  and  obviate  this,  and  show  how 
much  may  be  learned  from  a  comparative 
study  of  the  two  versions  that  the  remaining 
sections  of  this  little  book  have  been  written. 


41 


PART    II 

THE  PRACTICAL  USE  OF  THE  REVISED 
VERSION 


NEGATIVELY— ITS   REMOVING  OF 
DIFFICULTIES 

What  was  said  at  the  close  of  the  previous 
section  will  have  shown  that  it  is  not  the 
substitution  of  the  Revised  for  the  Author- 
ized Version  that  we  are  at  present  pleading 
for.  That,  if  it  ever  takes  place,  can  only 
be  brought  about  through  the  new  Version's 
gradually  winning  its  way  through  its  own 
superior  merits,  as  the  old  in  its  time  had 
to  do.  All  that  we  are  in  the  meantime 
concerned  with  is  the  value  to  all  Bible 
students  of  a  careful  study  of  the  two 
versions  side  by  side,  and  the  fresh  light 
which  in  consequence  is  continually  cast 
upon  the  best-known  words  and  scenes. 

I.  It  arrests  Attention. 

We  begin  then  at  once  by  noticing  that 
this  comparative  study  of  the  two  versions, 

45 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

even  if  it  does  nothing  else,  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  the  ordinary  reader  in  arrest- 
ing his  attention. 

We  all  know  how  our  very  familiarity 
with  the  language  of  Scripture  is  apt  to 
lead  to  our  reading  in  a  careless,  perfunctory 
way,  supplying  words  and  finishing  verses  it 
may  be  from  memory,  and  so  falling  into 
many  inaccuracies  and  errors.  But  when 
we  read  with  a  Parallel  New  Testament 
in  our  hands,  comparing  verse  with  verse, 
and  word  with  word,  we  are  constantly 
being  brought  up  by  some  slight,  though 
it  may  prove  very  significant,  change,  and 
so  being  led  to  inquire  what  exactly  the 
sacred  writer  says. 

For  here  let  me  dispose  in  passing  of 
the  objection  sometimes  brought  against  the 
Revised  Version  by  those  who  have  only 
examined  it  superficially — namely,  that  the 
changes  in  it  from  the  Authorized  Version 
are  neither  numerous  enough  nor  im- 
portant enough  to  make  it  worth  while 
referring  to.  Of  the  importance  of  the 
changes  we  shall  learn  more  directly ;    but, 

46 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

as  regards  their  number,  it  has  been  estim- 
ated that  in  the  New  Testament  "  there 
are  in  all  over  36,000  departures  from  King 
James's  Version  in  the  English  text,  and 
(probably  included  in  the  former)  nearly 
6000  changes  in  the  Greek  text."  ^  I 
know,  of  course,  the  counter  -  objection 
that  will  at  once  be  raised,  that  many  of 
these  changes  are  quite  unnecessary,  and 
in  no  way  affect  the  sense.  But  when  we 
remember  that  in  the  case  of  changes  caused 
by  a  variety  of  reading  in  the  original  Greek, 
a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  Company 
present  had  to  be  secured  on  the  final 
revision,  and  that  no  change  was  adopted 
without  being  first  carefully  scrutinized  in 
the  interests  of  faithfulness  by  a  large  and 
representative  body  of  scholars,  we  may  be 
sure  that  all  merit  our  most  careful  con- 
sideration, and  contribute  their  share  in 
bringing  out  the  true  meaning  of  the  text. 
To  return,  however,  to  the  point  immedi- 
ately before  us,  "  it  would  not,  I  imagine  " — 

1  See  S chaff,  A  Companion  to  the  Greek  Testament  and  the 
English  Version,  New  York,  1883,  p.  418. 

47 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

and  here  I  gladly  avail  myself  of  the  weighty 
words  of  Archbishop  Trench  *  —  "be  for 
most  of  us  unprofitable  to  discover  that 
the  words  in  which  the  truth  has  hitherto 
reached  us,  are  exchangeable  for  other,  in 
some  places,  it  may  be,  for  better,  words. 
The  shock,  unpleasant  and  unwelcome  as  it 
would  perhaps  prove  at  the  first,  might  yet 
be  a  startling  of  many  from  a  dull,  lethargic, 
unprofitable  reading  of  God's  Word ;  a 
breaking  up  of  that  hard  crust  of  formality 
which  so  easily  overgrows  our  study  of  the 
Scripture ;  while  in  the  rousing  of  the 
energies  of  the  mind  to  defend  the  old, 
or,  before  admitting,  thoroughly  to  test  the 
new,  more  insight  into  it  might  be  gained, 
with  more  grasp  of  its  deeper  meaning,  than 
years  of  lazy  familiarity  would  have  given." 
An  example  may  make  this  clearer.  Let 
us  take  a  very  familiar  passage,  which  bears 
directly  upon  our  work  as  preachers  and 
teachers,  the  Parable  of  the  Sower  in 
Matt.  xiii.   1-23.     In  the   Revised  Version 

1  On    the    jiuthori%ed  Version    of  the   New   Testament^ 
London,  1859,  p.  214  f. 

48 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

it  opens  not  "  Behold  a  sower  went  forth 
to  sow,"  but  "  Behold  the  sower,"  where 
the  definite  article,  if  it  does  not  suggest 
some  sower  actually  at  work  in  a  field  close 
at  hand,  at  least  points  to  him  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  his  whole  class.  It  is  "  as  he 
sowed  "  too,  as  he  was  carrying  out  his  pur- 
pose, in  the  very  process  of  sowing,^  that 
the  things  about  to  be  related  happened. 
Passing  over  such  slight  changes  as  "  the 
birds  "  for  "  the  fowls  "  and  "  devoured 
them  "  for  "  devoured  them  up  "  in  ver.  4, 
we  come  in  ver.  5  to  the  important  sub- 
stitution of  "  upon  the  rocky  places  "  for 
"  upon  stony  places."  The  latter  naturally 
leads  us  to  think  of  a  field  covered  with 
loose  stones,  which  is  clearly  out  of  keeping 
with  the  fate  of  the  seed  which  fell  upon  it. 
Indeed  it  is  often  just  such  fields  which 
are  the  most  productive,  through  the  stones 
helping  the  soil  to  retain  its  moisture. 
Whereas  the  "  rocky  places  "  bring  before 
us  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  corn-lands 
of  Galilee — a  rocky  bed  covered  over  with 

^  iv  T<3  (jTretpeLv  avTov, 

49 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

a  thin  sprinkling  of  earth,  in  which  the  seed 
from  its  nearness  to  the  warm  surface  would 
spring  up  quickly,  but  would  as  quickly 
wither  away.  Again  it  is  "  upon  the 
thorns "  and  not  "  among  thorns  "  that 
other  seeds  fell,  upon  soil,  that  is,  in  which 
the  seeds  of  thorns  lay  already  lurking, 
rather  than  among  growing  and  flourish- 
ing thorn-plants,  which  every  sower  would 
be  careful  to  avoid.  While  once  more  we 
cannot  but  recognize  the  precision  which 
the  definite  article  again  gives  to  the  fourth 
kind  of  soil,  "  the  good  ground,"  though 
unfortunately  our  English  idiom  prevents 
us  giving  its  proper  emphasis  to  the  article 
which  in  the  Greek  text  is  again  repeated 
before  the  adjective — "  the  ground  "  which 
(in  contrast  to  the  kinds  of  ground  already 
mentioned)  is  specifically  "  the  good  " 
ground.^ 

Similarly,  to  pass  to  our  Lord's  inter- 
pretation of  the  Parable,  it  is  "  the  evil  one  " 
rather  than  "  the  wicked  one,"  the  same 
Enemy  from  whom  we  are  taught  to  ask 

^  T^v  yrjv  Tr]v  KaXi^v. 

so 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

deliverance  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  (Matt.  vi. 
13,  R.V.),  who  snatcheth  away  that  which 
"  hath  been  sown,"  the  perfect  participle 
bringing  out  that,  while  the  sowing  was 
completed,  the  seed  still  lay  undisturbed  in 
the  heart  of  the  wayside  hearer.  Or  as 
this  hearer  is  described  in  words  which 
identify  the  seed  with  the  person  receiving 
it,  a  truth  quite  lost  sight  of  in  the  Author- 
ised rendering,  ''  This  is  he  that  was  sown 
by  the  way  side."  Just  as  the  seed  repro- 
duces itself  in  the  grain,  so  the  living  truth 
reproduces  itself  in  the  heart  of  all  by 
whom  it  is  welcomed — a  further  assurance 
of  what  in  our  teaching  we  need  so  con- 
stantly to  be  reminded  of,  that  at  best  we 
are  sowers  :  the  word  of  the  Lord  must  be 
left  to  find  its  own  "  free  course,"  or  more 
literally  to  "  run  and  be  glorified  "  (2  Thess. 
iii.  I,  R.V.). 

In  the  next  class  of  hearers  again  the 
Revised  Version  alone  preserves  the  parallel 
between  the  ofttimes  hasty  reception  and 
the  equally  hasty  rejection  of  the  Word — 
"  straightway    with    joy    receiveth    it  .  .  . 

SI 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

straightway  he  stumbleth."  The  changes 
of  "  by  and  by  "  into  "  straightway  "  and 
"  is  offended  "  into  "  stumbleth  "  in  this 
last  clause  have  also  their  interest.  Even 
at  the  time  when  the  Authorized  Version 
was  made,  "  by  and  by  "  was  beginning  to 
lose  some  of  its  original  force  of  "  immedi- 
ately," and  this  weakening  tendency,  owing 
to  the  procrastinating  habits  of  men,  has 
gone  steadily  on,  so  that  now  we  always 
refer  ''  by  and  by  "  to  a  more  or  less  remote 
period.  But  the  Greek  word^  here  means 
"  at  once,"  "  straightway,"  and  should  be 
rendered  accordingly.  '*  Stumbleth,"  again, 
is  a  clear  gain  over  "  is  offended,"  which 
conveys  to  any  but  the  educated  reader  an 
altogether  different  sense  from  what  is  in- 
tended. And  yet  once  more,  we  are  now 
told  of  the  good  hearer  not  that  he  "  also 
beareth  fruit,"  a  self-evident  proposition, 
but  that  he  "  verily  "  beareth  it.  Fruit  is 
the  certain  result  of  his  being  good. 

So  far   then   from   a   close   attention   to 
the  exact  words  of  the  original  being  profit- 


52 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

less,  enough  has,  I  hope,  been  said  to  prove 
that  it  at  least  leads  us  to  ask,  What  exactly 
did  our  Lord  or  His  Evangelist  say  ?  and 
so  awakens  interest  and  stimulates  inquiry 
even  with  regard  to  those  points  which  we 
think  that  we  have  perfectly  understood 
before. 


2.  It  clears  up  Many  Obscurities. 

But  the  Revised  Version  does  more  than 
this.  It  makes  clear  the  meaning  of  many 
words  and  phrases  which,  as  they  stand 
in  the  older  version,  are,  if  not  actually 
unintelligible,  certainly  obscure. 

Take  a  very  obvious  class  of  examples 
which  has  been  suggested  to  us  already. 
In  the  Authorized  Version,  owing  to  the 
period  when  it  was  written  and  its  subse- 
quent long  history,  there  is  necessarily  an 
archaic  style  and  mode  of  speech.  And 
so  far  well.  It  lifts  the  sacred  language 
of  Scripture  above  all  mere  coUoquiaHsm, 
and  gives  it  a  strength  and  dignity  of  its 
own.     One  has  only  to  glance  at  some  of 

53 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

the  attempts  which  have  been  made  to 
modernize  the  diction  of  our  version  to  see 
how  terribly  it  has  suffered  in  the  process. 

But  it  is  different  with  regard  to  those 
words  and  phrases  which  have  so  altered 
their  meaning  since  the  Authorized  Version 
was  made  that  they  are  now  liable  to  be 
understood  in  an  altogether  misleading 
sense.  Here  obviously  some  change  has  to 
be  made.  A  very  commonly  cited  instance 
is  the  familiar  precept,  "Take  no  thought 
for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye 
shall  drink  "  (Matt.  vi.  25),  which  at  first 
sight  seems  to  conflict  strangely  with  the 
well-established  rules  of  prudence  and  thrift. 
But  in  old  English  "  thought "  had  a  note  of 
anxiety  attached  to  it,  which  it  has  now  lost, 
and  therefore  to  bring  out  the  full  force 
of  the  original,  we  require  to  render  with 
the  Revised  Version,  "  Be  not  anxious 
for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye 
shall  drink."  Similarly  Phil.  iv.  6  now 
runs  :  "  In  nothing  be  anxious ;  but  in 
everything  by  prayer  and  supplication  with 
thanksgiving    let    your    requests    be    made 

54 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

known  to  God,"  and  I  Pet.  v.  7  :  "  Casting 
all  your  anxiety  upon  Him,  because  He 
careth  for  you,"  where  a  significant  dis- 
tinction of  words  lost  in  our  English  Version 
("  Casting  all  your  care  upon  Him,  for  He 
careth  for  you  ")  is  also  brought  out. 

In  like  manner,  "  occupy  "  is  no  longer 
understood  in  its  old  sense  of  "  lay  hold  of," 
"  employ,"  "  trade,"  so  that  it  is  properly 
replaced  by  the  last  term  in  the  Parable 
of  the  Pounds,  "  Trade  ye  herewith  till  I 
come "  (Luke  xix.  13),  with  the  further 
advantage  of  preserving  the  parallel  with 
the  statement  two  verses  later,  "  what  they 
had  gained  by  trading."  And  the  same 
applies  to  the  substitution  of  "  wallet  "  for 
"  scrip  "  (Matt.  x.  10),  a  word  which  is  apt 
to  be  taken  in  its  modern  business  mean- 
ing,^ and  of  "  interest  "  for  "  usury  "  (Matt. 
XXV.  27),  which  is  now  only  used  of  illegal 

^  The  reference  to  the  "  wallet "  gains  still  further  in 
significance,  if,  with  Dr.  Deissmann  [Netu  Light  on  the 
Neiu  Testament,  p.  4ifF. ),  we  understand  by  it  not  a 
travelling-bag,  but  a  beggar's  collecting-bag  :  the  disciples 
were  not  even  to  beg. 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

or  exorbitant  transactions.  We  seem  too  to 
have  a  reversal  of  the  usual  process  when  in 
Acts  xxi.  15  we  are  told  that  St.  Paul  and 
his  companions  "  took  up  "  their  ''  carriages," 
until  we  learn  from  the  Revised  Version, 
that  "  carriages  "  is  here  the  old  word  for 
"  baggage."  And  there  is  no  longer  the 
danger  of  its  distinctively  modern  meaning 
being  attached  to  "  compass  "  when  in  the 
account  of  St.  Paul's  voyage  to  Italy  we 
read  with  the  Revisers,  "  we  made  a  circuit  " 
rather  than  "  we  fetched  a  compass,"  and 
arrived  at  Rhegium  (Acts  xxviii.  13). 

It  would  be  easy  to  carry  this  line  of 
illustration  further,  but  it  must  be  sufficient 
to  draw  attention  to  one  or  two  words 
which  have  practically  reversed  their  mean- 
ing since  161 1.  Thus  the  verb  "let"  was 
then  =  "  hinder,"  though  now  we  use 
it  in  the  sense  of  "  permit,"  and  though 
the  context  might  prevent  us  from  mis- 
understanding such  a  passage  as  Rom.  i.  13, 
"  And  I  would  not  have  you  ignorant, 
brethren,  that  oftentimes  I  purposed  to 
come  unto  you,  (but  was  let  (R.V.  hindered) 

56 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

hitherto),"  the  very  obscure  verse,  2  Thess. 
ii.  7,  is  undoubtedly  rendered  still  more 
difficult  to  the  ordinary  reader  by  the 
translation  :  ^'  For  the  mystery  of  iniquity 
doth  already  work :  only  he  who  now 
letteth,  will  let,  until  he  be  taken  out  of  the 
way."  It  is  a  "  restraining  "  not  a  "  per- 
mitting "  power  that  is  in  view,  in  con- 
formity with  ver.  6,  where  the  same  Greek 
word  occurs,  and  this  at  least  is  made  clear 
when  we  read  :  "  And  now  ye  know  that 
which  restraineth,  to  the  end  that  he 
[i,e.  the  man  of  lawlessness]  may  be  revealed 
in  his  own  season.  For  the  mystery  of 
lawlessness  doth  already  work  :  only  there  is 
one  that  restraineth  now,  until  he  be  taken 
out  of  the  way.  And  then  shall  be  revealed 
the  lawless  one.  .  .  ." 

Or,  to  take  another  example  suggested  by 
this  last,  how  many  fail  to  realize  that 
in  Matt.  xvii.  25,  "  Jesus  prevented  him, 
saying,  What  thinkest  thou,  Simon  ?  " 
really  means,  as  Tindale  had  already  shown, 
"  Jesus  spake  first  to  him,  saying  .  .  .," 
or  that  in  i  Thess.  iv.  15  those  who  are  alive 

57 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

at  the  Parousia  shall  not  in  our  sense  "  pre- 
vent them  which  are  asleep,"  but  rather 
shall ''  precede  "  them.  The  Thessalonians' 
fear  was  that  those  who  were  already  dead 
when  Christ  came  would  have  no  part  in 
His  Resurrection.  So  far  from  this  being 
the  case,  the  Apostle  assures  them  that  it  is 
the  dead  in  Christ  who  shall  rise  first,  to  be 
followed  by  those  who  are  alive,  who  are 
left,  at  the  time. 

What  an  added  force,  too,  is  given  by  the 
disappearance  of  the  archaic  "  presently " 
in  Matt.  xxi.  19,  *'  And  immediately  the 
fig-tree  withered  away,"  and  in  Matt.  xxvi. 
53,  "  Or  thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  beseech 
my  Father,  and  He  shall  even  now  send  Me 
more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  " 

Or,  to  take  one  instance  from  the  very 
numerous  examples  that  might  be  cited 
from  the  prepositions,  when  St.  Paul  states 
in  I  Cor.  iv.  4,  ''  For  I  know  nothing  by 
myself ;  yet  am  I  not  hereby  justified  : 
but  he  that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord,"  we 
naturally  think  that  the  Apostle  means  that 
for    all   his    knowledge   he    was    dependent 

58 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

not  on  himself,  but  on  God,  whereas  "  by  " 
is  used  in  its  old  English  sense  of  "  against," 
which,  to  avoid  misunderstanding,  has  been 
substituted  for  it  in  the  Revised  Version, 
"  For  I  know  nothing  against  myself  ;  yet 
am  I  not  hereby  justified  :  but  he  that 
judgeth  me  is  the  Lord."  St.  Paul  is  at 
the  moment  on  his  defence,  and  with 
reference  to  certain  charges  that  have  been 
brought  against  him  by  the  Corinthians, 
he  declares  that  it  is  for  him  "  a  very  small 
thing  "  to  be  judged  ''  of  man's  judgement," 
nor  is  he  conscious  in  his  own  mind  of  having 
done  them  any  wrong.  And  yet,  after  all, 
he  does  not  rest  his  justification  on  this, 
but  rather  leaves  all  in  the  hands  of  God, 
the  one  true  Judge. 

But  unintelligibility  in  the  Authorized 
Version  does  not  only  arise  in  this  way. 
With  all  our  admiration,  and  it  can  hardly 
be  too  strongly  expressed,  for  the  manner 
in  which  the  translation  as  a  whole  has  been 
executed,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  there 
are  many  passages  to  v/hich,  as  they  stand 
at  present,  little  or  no  sense  can  be  attached. 

59 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

The  most  noticeable  examples  of  these 
perhaps  occur  in  the  Old  Testament  in  such 
books  as  Job  and  the  Psalms,  but  examples 
may  also  be  cited  from  the  Gospels.  Let  me 
mention  two,  where  I  venture  to  think 
their  very  familiarity  with  the  words  has 
in  many  cases  prevented  readers  from  real- 
izing that  they  do  not,  and  indeed  cannot, 
understand  them  in  the  ordinary  version. 

The  first  occurs  in  Mark  vii.  10-12  : 
"  For  Moses  said.  Honour  thy  father  and 
thy  mother  :  and.  Whoso  curseth  father  or 
mother,  let  him  die  the  death.  But  ye  say, 
If  a  man  shall  say  to  his  father  or  mother. 
It  is  Corban,  that  is  to  say,  a  gift,  by  what- 
soever thou  mightest  be  profited  by  me  : 
he  shall  he  free.  And  ye  suffer  him  no  more 
to  do  ought  for  his  father,  or  his  mother." 
Now,  what  do  these  words  mean  ?  With- 
out the  aid  of  some  note  or  comment  no 
ordinary  reader  can  tell.  But  when  we  read 
them  in  the  Revised  Version  we  are  at 
least  put  on  the  right  lines  for  understanding 
them,  though  even  then,  from  the  difficulty 
of  the  subject,  some  further  explanation 
60 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

is    probably  required:    "For    Moses  said, 
Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother  ;    and, 
He  that  speaketh  evil  of  father  or  mother, 
let  him  die  the  death  :  but  ye  say,  If  a  man 
shall  say  to  his  father  or  his  mother.  That 
wherewith   thou   mightest  have  been  pro- 
fited by  me  is  Corban,  that  is  to  say,  Given 
to  God  ;  ye  no  longer  suffer  him  to  do  aught 
for   his   father    or   his   mother."     What^  is 
referred  to  is  the  Jewish  custom,  according 
to  which  a  person  had  merely  to  pronounce 
the  word  Corhan  over  any  possession,  and 
it  was  irrevocably  dedicated  to  the  Temple, 
and  could  consequently  be  no  longer  used 
for  the  benefit  even  of  his  parents. 

My  second  example  occurs  in  the  same 
chapter   a   few   verses   lower   down.     Jesus 
has   been   explaining   to   His   disciples    the 
importance   of  inward,   as   contrasted  with 
outward,     defilement,     and    He    proceeds, 
"  Are  ye   so  without   understanding   also  ? 
Do  ye  not  perceive  that  whatsoever  thing 
from   without    entereth   into   the   man,   it 
cannot  defile  him,  because  it  entereth  not 
into  his  heart,  but  into  the  belly,  and  goeth 
6i 


Value  of  the   Revised   Version 

out  into  the  draught,  purging  all  meats  ?  " 
Again,  as  it  stands,  this  last  clause  is  meaning- 
less. But  by  the  change  of  a  single  letter  in 
the  Greek  a  new  reading  is  gained,  and  the 
verse  now  concludes — "  7 his  He  said,  making 
all  meats  clean,"  being  the  Evangelist's 
comment  upon  what  he  has  just  recorded, 
a  comment  that  gains  still  further  in  signifi- 
cance when  we  remember  that  St.  Mark's 
Gospel  was  in  all  probability  largely  de- 
pendent upon  the  recollections  of  the 
Apostle  Peter,  who  was  taught  in  so  striking 
a  manner  that  in  God's  sight  nothing  is 
common  or  unclean  (Acts  x.  9-16).  How 
in  later  life  St.  Peter,  brooding  on  his  vision, 
must  have  loved  to  connect  it  with  those 
words  of  His  Master,  enforcing,  though  he 
had  not  at  the  time  understood  them,  the 
same  truth  ! 

3.  It  corrects  Erroneous  Ideas. 

Another  use  of  the  Revised  Version  lies 
in  the  erroneous  ideas  which  it  corrects  and 
the  difficulties  which  it  removes.     Let  us 
62 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

take  one  or  two  examples  under  each  of 
these  heads. 

First,  erroneous  ideas  which  are  cor- 
rected. In  the  Hst  of  the  Twelve  Apostles 
in  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  we  must  have  been 
astonished,  or  should  have  been  astonished, 
if  we  had  stopped  to  think,  to  find  one  of 
them  described  as  "  Simon  the  Canaanite  " 
(x.  4),  as  if  he  belonged  to  the  heathen 
stock  which  the  Israelites  had  failed  to  root 
wholly  out  of  the  Promised  Land.  But 
the  true  reading  is  "  Simon  the  Cananaean  " 
or,  as  the  margin  suggests,  "  Simon  the 
Zealot,"  proving  that,  before  Christ's  grace 
seized  him  and  converted  him  into  a 
Christian  disciple,  Simon  had  belonged  to 
that  Jewish  faction,  who  thought  any  deed 
of  violence  justifiable  for  the  recovery  of 
national  freedom. 

Similarly,  to  turn  to  a  very  different  case, 
when  Hetodias'  daughter  danced  before 
King  Herod,  and  he  promised  her  what  she 
would  ask,  "  she,"  so  we  read  in  our  ordinary 
version,  **  being  before  instructed  of  her 
mother,  said.  Give  me  here  John  Baptist's 

63 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

head  in  a  charger  "  (Matt.  xiv.  8).  But  the 
Revised  Version,  correctly  following  the 
Greek,  has,  "  And  she,  being  put  forward  by 
her  mother,  saith  .  .  ."  clearly  indicating 
that  the  girl  herself  was  unwilling  to  make 
such  a  proposal,  and  had  to  be  "  put 
forward,"  ^  urged  on,  as  it  were,  by  her 
angry  and  revengeful  mother,  until,  at 
length,  as  we  learn  from  Mark  vi.  25,  "  she 
came  in  straightway  with  haste  unto  the 
King,  and  asked,  saying,  I  will  that  thou 
forthwith  give  me  in  a  charger  the  head 
of  John  the  Baptist,"  as  if  it  were  an  errand 
she  would  gladly  have  quickly  over. 

Turning  to  difficulties  removed  by  the 
Revised  Version,  the  statement  of  Luke  iii. 
23  that  after  His  Baptism,  "  Jesus  Himself 
began  to  be  about  thirty  years  of  age,"  is, 
to  say  the  least,  somewhat  unintelligible. 
But  there  is  no  reason  for  any  perplexity. 
What  the  original  says  implies  that  ''  Jesus 
Himself,  when  He  began  to  teach  (so  the 

1  The  same  Greek  verb  (Trpo^i/Sa^o))  occurs  in  the 
Received  Text  of  Acts  xlx.  33,  ck  hi  rov  6)(Xov 
7r/)0€/3i)3a(rav  'AXi^avhpov, 

64 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

Revised  Version  fills  up  the  blank),  was 
about  thirty  years  of  age."  A  proper 
attention  to  the  Greek  again  enables  us  to 
appreciate  the  force  of  the  woman's  argu- 
ment in  Matt.  xv.  27,  for  she  does  not  say, 
"  yet  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs  which 
fall  from  their  masters'  table,"  but,  "  for 
even  the  dogs  ..."  In  the  very  appella- 
tion which  the  Lord  had  used,  she  finds 
ground  for  assurance  and  hope. 

Exactness  of  rendering  similarly  restores 
harmony  between  the  accounts  of  St. 
Matthew  and  St.  Luke  as  to  the  spot  from 
which  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  was 
spoken.  In  our  old  version  the  statements 
seem  directly  contradictory.  According  to 
the  former,  Jesus  "  went  up  into  a  moun- 
tain :  .  .  .  and  He  opened  His  mouth,  and 
taught  .  .  ."  (Matt.  v.  i,  2)  :  whereas  the 
latter  tells  us,  "He  came  down  .  .  .,  and  stood 
in  the  plain,"  and  only  then  "  lifted  up  His 
eyes  on  His  disciples,  and  said,  Blessed  be 
ye  poor"  (Luke  vi.  17,  20).  But  when  we 
read  with  the  Revised  Version  in  the  latter 
case,  "  and  stood  on  a  level  place,"  we  see 

6s 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

that  what  happened  was  this.  On  the 
previous  evening  Jesus  went  up  ''  into  the 
mountain  " — where  the  definite  article  is 
to  be  taken  as  pointing  to  the  mountainous 
region  or  barrier  overhanging  the  Lake  of 
GaHlee — and  there  spent  the  night  in 
prayer.  In  the  morning  He  chose  His 
Twelve  Apostles,  and  then,  going  with 
them  to  some  "  level  spot  "  in  the  midst 
of  this  hilly  country,  preached  to  them 
and  to  the  multitudes  who  had  gathered 
round. 

In  like  manner  the  Revised  Version  is 
successful  in  removing  popular  misappre- 
hensions, if  not  actual  difficulties,  in  not  a 
few  well-known  passages.  Thus  in  the 
Parable  of  the  Unjust  Steward  (Luke  xvi. 
I  ff.)  the  substitution  of  "  his  lord "  for 
"  the  lord "  in  ver.  8  makes  it  perfectly 
clear  that  it  was  his  earthly  master,  and  not 
God,  who  "  commended  the  unrighteous 
steward,"  while  the  injunction,  "  Make  to 
yourselves  friends  by  means  of  the  mammon 
of  unrighteousness,"  sets  the  lesson  drawn 
in  a  very  different  light  from  "  Make  to 
66 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

yourselves  friends  of  the  mammon  of 
unrighteousness,"  and  the  gain  is  further 
increased  by  the  correct  reading  in  the 
following  clause,  "  that,  when  it  "—that  is, 
the  mammon  of  unrighteousness,  and  not 
"ye,"  as  in  the  Authorized  Version — 
*' shall  fail,  they  (the  friends  whom  you 
have  thus  made)  may  receive  you  into  the 
eternal  tabernacles." 

Any  doubt  as  to  the  true  meaning  of  the 
words  which  introduce  the  Parable  of  the 
Pharisee  and  the  Publican,  as  they  were 
originally  printed  in  1611 — "And  He 
spake  this  parable  unto  certain  which 
trusted  in  themselves  that  they  were 
righteous,  and  despised  other  "  (Luke  xviii. 
^)_is  set  at  rest  by  the  fuller  and  more 
exact  "  and  set  all  others  at  nought." 
And  of  still  greater  importance  is  the 
correction  a  few  verses  further  on,  where  the 
Pharisees'  boast  reads,  "  I  give  tithes  of  all 
that  I  get,"  instead  of  "  of  all  that  I  possess  " 
the  tithe  was  paid  not  on  what  he  pos- 
sessed or  had  laid  up,  but  on  what  he 
acquired  in   the  way  of  increase.     Similar 

67 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

attention  to  the  tense  of  the  same  Greek 
verb  in  Luke  xxi.  19  shows  that  our  Lord 
did  not  intend  to  enforce  the  duty  of 
holding  fast  what  is  ours  already,  "  In 
your  patience  possess  ye  your  souls,"  but, 
in  view  of  the  troublous  times  that  were 
impending,  cheered  His  disciples  with  the 
promise — "  In  your  patience  ye  shall  win 
your  souls."  ^ 

Other  passages  which  show  gains  in 
clearness  are  Matt.  xxii.  8,  13,  where  the 
marginal  notes  show  that  two  classes  of 
servants  are  referred  to,  the  "  bond-servants  " 
or  slaves,  who  were  sent  to  bid  the  guests 
to  the  Marriage  Feast,  and  the  "  ministers  " 
or  angels,  to  whom  was  afterwards  entrusted 
the  carrying  out  of  the  sentence  of  doom  ; 
Matt,  xxiii.  35,  "  Zachariah  .  .  .  whom  ye 
slew  between  the  sanctuary  and  the  altar, 
where  the  "  sanctuary,"  or  inner  shrine  of 
the  Temple,  is  distinguished  from  the 
whole  Temple  precincts ;  and  Matt.  xvii.  25, 
where  the  Revisers,  by  substituting  "  half- 

1  Of.  also  I  Thess.  iv.  4,  where  the  translation  of  the 
Terb  is  again  amended. 

68 


Its  Removing  of  Difficulties 

shekel "  for  "  tribute  money,"  show  that 
the  reference  is  not  to  any  civil  tax,  but 
to  the  half-shekel  which  was  payable  to  the 
Temple  annually  by  every  Jew  over  twenty 
years  of  age  (see  Exod.  xxx.  13). 


69 


II 

POSITIVELY  —  ITS  ADVANTAGES 
AS  COMPARED  WITH  THE 
AUTHORIZED   VERSION 

I.  It  adds  Graphic  Touches  to  Many 
Narratives. 

A  POSITIVE  gain  from  the  use  of  the  Revised 
V^ersion  Hes  in  the  graphic  touches  in  which 
it  abounds,  enabHng  us  to  picture  to  our- 
selves Gospel  scenes  in  a  way  which  was 
before  impossible. 

Sometimes  this  results  from  a  more 
vivid  rendering  of  the  original,  as  in  Mark 
i.  27,  where,  after  the  healing  of  the  man 
with  the  unclean  spirit,  the  multitude  are 
represented  as  questioning  amongst  them- 
selves, saying,  "  What  is  this  ?  a  new 
teaching  !  with  authority  He  commandeth 
even  the  unclean  spirits,  and  they  obey 
Him  "  ;  or  in  ch.  ix.  22  f.  when,  to  the 
70 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

prayer  of  the  father  of  the  demoniac  boy, 
"  If  Thou  canst  do  anything,  have  com- 
passion on  us,  and  help  us,"  Jesus  repHes, 
catching  up  his  words,  and  retorting  his 
condition  on  himself,  "  If  thou  canst !  " — 
this  is  no  question  of  My  being  able,  but 
of  thy  being  able — "  All  things  are  possible 
to  him  that  believeth  "  ;  or,  in  the  Parable 
of  the  Virgins,  where  the  suddenness  of  the 
bridegroom's  arrival  is  brought  clearly  out, 
"  But  at  midnight  there  is  a  cry,  Behold  the 
bridegroom  !  Come  ye  forth  to  meet  him  " 
(Matt.  XXV.  6). 

Or,  to  turn  to  a  different  set  of  examples, 
we  have  seen  already,  in  the  case  of  the 
Parable  of  the  Sower,  the  gain  in  graphic- 
ness  from  the  proper  recognition  of  the 
definite  article,  and  numerous  similar 
instances  can  be  cited.  Thus  it  was  from 
''  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple,"  some  well- 
known  pinnacle,  that  the  devil  wished  Jesus 
to  cast  Himself  down  (Matt.  iv.  5  ;  Luke 
iv.  9)  ;  "  into  the  mountain,"  the  high 
ground  overlooking  the  Lake  of  Galilee, 
that  Jesus  went  up  when  He  spoke  the 
71 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Matt.  v.  i)  ;  down 
"  the  steep,"  the  equally  characteristic 
steep  precipices  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  Lake,  that  the  herd  of  swine  rushed 
(Matt.  viii.  32) ;  "  in  the  open  street " 
rather  than  the  indefinite  ''  in  a  place  where 
two  ways  met "  that  the  disciples  were 
directed  to  find  the  colt  (Mark  xi.  4)  ; 
"  the  branches  of  the  palm  trees,"  that 
lined  the  side  of  the  road,  that  the  multi- 
tudes carried  in  welcoming  Jesus  to  Jeru- 
salem (John  xii.  13);  and  "the  seats  of 
them  that  sold  the  doves,"  which  were 
required  by  the  Law  for  the  purposes  of 
religious  offering,  that  Jesus  overthrew 
(Matt.  xxi.  12;  Mark  xi.  15).  In  St. 
Mark's  narrative  of  this  last  incident  there 
is  a  further  correction  of  the  same  kind, 
"  all  the  nations  "  for  "  all  nations,"  along 
with  one  of  those  slight  changes  which  at 
first  sight  seem  of  no  special  significance,  but 
have  an  important  bearing  on  the  sense. 
Our  Lord's  words,  as  given  in  the  Authorized 
Version,  are,  ''  Is  it  not  written.  My  house 
shall  be  called  of  all  nations  the  house  of 
72 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

prayer  ?  but  ye  have  made  it  a  den  of 
thieves."  But  in  the  Revised  Version  the 
w^ords  run,  "  My  house  shall  be  called  a 
house  of  prayer  for  all  the  nations,"  and 
thereby  not  only  is  the  passage  brought 
into  exact  agreement  w^ith  the  prophecy 
in  Isaiah  from  v^hich  it  is  taken  (Isa.  Ivi.  7), 
but  its  full  force  is  given  to  our  Lord's 
condemnation  of  the  Jews.  To  them  per- 
haps it  had  seemed  a  matter  of  small 
moment  that  the  outer  court,  the  court 
of  the  Gentiles,  should  be  profaned,  so  long 
as  the  inner  court,  belonging  especially  to 
themselves,  was  kept  holy;  whereas,  as 
Jesus  now  reminded  them,  it  had  been 
announced  by  one  of  their  own  prophets 
that  His  house  was  to  be  sacred  alike  to 
the  Gentile  as  to  the  Jew — "  a  house  of 
prayer  for  all  the  nations." 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  not  a  few 
passages  in  which  the  older  translators 
have  wrongly  inserted  a  definite  article 
when  there  is  none  in  the  original.  In 
Luke  ii.  12  the  significance  of  the  angelic 
sign  to  the  shepherds  lay  in  the  fact  that 

73 


Value  of  the  Revised   Version 

they  would  find  not  "  the  babe,"  but  "  a 
babe,"  a  babe  to  all  outward  appearance 
like  any  human  babe,  "  wrapped  in  swaddling 
clothes,  and  lying  in  a  manger."  In  John  iv. 
27  the  disciples  marvelled  not  because  their 
Master  was  speaking  "  with  the  woman," 
as  if  they  already  knew  all  about  this  par- 
ticular woman's  past  history,  but  "  with 
a  woman,"  any  woman,  contrary  to  the 
Rabbinical  precept  that  prohibited  all  con- 
versation with  one  of  the  other  sex  in  public. 
In  Acts  xvii.  23  the  point  of  the  inscription 
on  the  altar  at  Athens  lay  in  the  fact  that  it 
was  addressed,  "  To  an  Unknown  God." 
And  in  i  Tim.  vi.  10  the  love  of  money  is 
not  described  as  "  the  root  of  all  evil,"  as  if 
there  were  no  other,  but  as  "  a  root,"  one 
out  of  many,  "  of  all  kinds  of  evil." 

The  proper  translation  of  the  tenses  also 
lends  additional  force  to  many  passages. 
Thus  who  does  not  feel  the  lifelike  reality 
of  the  present  in  such  verses  as  Matt.  iii.  i, 
"  And  in  those  days  cometh  John  the 
Baptist,  preaching  in  the  wilderness  of 
Judaea  "    (especially  when   taken  with   the 

74 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

parallel  in  ver.  13,  "  Then  cometh  Jesus 
from  Galilee  to  the  Jordan "),  and  still 
more  noticeably  perhaps  in  St.  Mark's 
Gospel,  where  the  Saviour  is  specially 
depicted  in  His  Divine  energy  and  power, 
passing  from  place  to  place  on  errands  of 
mercy — "  And  they  go  into  Capernaum  " 
(i.  21),  "  And  they  found  Him,  and  say 
unto  Him,  All  are  seeking  Thee  "  (i.  37), 
"  And  straightway  Jesus  .  .  .  saith  unto 
them "  (ii.  8),  "  And  He  cometh  into  a 
house "  (iii.  19),  "  And  there  come  His 
mother  and  His  brethren  .  .  .  And  they 
say  unto  Him  .  .  .  And  He  answereth 
them,  and  saith  .  .  .  And  looking  round  on 
them  .  .  .  He  saith  .  .  ."  (iii.  31  ff.),  and 
so  in  numerous  other  passages  throughout 
the  Gospel. 

Or,  passing  from  the  present  to  the 
imperfect  tense,  instead  of  the  general 
statement  that  "  the  disciples  of  John  and 
of  the  Pharisees  used  to  fast,"  we  learn 
from  the  resolved  form  of  imperfect  em- 
ployed that  they  actually  "  were  fasting  "  ^ 

^  ^crav  .   .   .   vya-T€vovT€<;. 

IS 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

— were  observing  one  of  the  weekly  fasts 
which  the  stricter  schools  of  Judaism  en- 
forced— at  the  very  time  when  the  disciples 
of  Jesus  had  been  engaged  in  feasting  (Mark 
ii.  1 8).  And  all  must  recognize  the  new 
vividness  imparted  by  a  close  observance  of 
the  tense  to  such  passages  from  the  Fourth 
Gospel  as,  "  And  the  sea  was  rising  by  reason 
of  a  great  wind  that  blew  "  (vi.  i8),  "  Jesus 
was  walking  in  the  temple  in  Solomon's 
porch "  (x.  23),  "  The  disciples  say  unto 
Him,  Rabbi,  the  Jews  were  but  now  seeking 
to  stone  Thee  "  (xi.  8).  In  Matt.  iii.  14, 
again,  a  too  great  definiteness  is  given  to 
the  attitude  of  John  towards  Jesus,  when  He 
came  to  be  baptized,  by  the  rendering,  "  But 
John  forbade  Him."  We  have  rather  here 
an  example  of  the  inchoate  force  of  the 
imperfect,  which  the  Revisers  have  preserved 
by  translating,  "  But  John  would  have 
hindered  Him."  And  similarly  in  Luke  i.  59, 
with  reference  to  the  bestowal  of  the  Baptist's 
own  name  we  read  not,  "  They  called  him," 
but  "  They  would  have  called  him  Zacharias, 
after    the   name    of   his    father."     Another 

76 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

significant  touch  in  the  same  Gospel,  which 
unfortunately  has  been  put  in  the  margin, 
lies  in  the  statement  that  the  woman  who  was 
a  sinner  "  kissed  much  "  Jesus'  feet  (vii.  38), 
or,  still  better,  "  kept  on  kissing  "  them. 

We  shall  have  to  return  to  the  new  force 
given  to  many  doctrinal  passages  by  the 
proper  translation  of  the  Greek  aorist 
(see  p.  104  f.),  but  meanwhile  it  may  be  well 
to  notice  one  or  two  perfects,  where  the 
abiding  force  of  the  action  described  is 
now  brought  out.  A  simple  example  is 
afforded  by  John  iv.  37  f.  :  "  For  herein  is 
the  saying  true.  One  soweth,  and  another 
reapeth.  I  sent  you  to  reap  that  whereon 
ye  have  not  laboured  :  others  have  laboured 
(A.V.  laboured),  and  ye  are  entered  into 
their  labours,"  where,  as  Bishop  Westcott 
has  pointed  out,  "  the  labours  of  earlier 
toilers  for  God  are  regarded  not  merely  in 
the  past,  but  as  bearing  fruit  in  the  present."  ^ 

Or  to  take  another  example,  to  which  the 
same  writer  has  drawn  special  attention,  in 

1  Some    Lessons    of  the    Revised   Version    of  the  Neiv 
Testament,  London,  1897,  p.  52, 

77 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

view  of  its  bearing  on  the  authorship  of 
the  Fourth  Gospel.  In  John  xix.  35  the 
Authorized  Version  reads,  "  He  that  saw  it 
bare  record,  and  his  record  is  true,"  where 
the  use  of  the  past  tense  has  been  claimed 
as  showing  that  the  writer  was  referring 
to  an  earlier  witness  now  dead,  and  not  to 
himself,  or  he  would  have  used  the  perfect. 
But  that  is  exactly  what  he  did,  "  And 
he  that  hath  seen  hath  borne  witness,  and 
his  witness  is  true."  And  thus  the  cor- 
rected rendering  actually  turns  the  force  of 
the  argument  in  the  opposite  direction.^ 

2.  It  throws  Light  on  Eastern  Manners 
AND  Customs. 

Nothing  helps  more  to  bring  home  to  a 
congregation  or  class  that  the  Bible  is  a 
real  book  dealing  with  the  lives  of  real 
men  and  women,  as  to  take  every  oppor- 
tunity of  pointing  out  to  them  the  indica- 
tions it  contains  of  the  marked  differences 

^  Some  Lessons    of  the    Revised  Version  of  the    New 
Testament,  p.  52. 

78 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

between  the  Eastern  and  our  Western 
mode  of  life.  No  doubt  these  differences 
can  hardly  be  grasped  from  the  Bible 
narrative  alone,  without  the  aid  of  such  well- 
known  books  as  Dr.  William  M.  Thomson's 
l^he  Land  and  the  Book,  or  the  Rev.  G.  M. 
Mackie's  Bible  Manners  and  Customs,  but 
the  more  exact  renderings  of  the  Revised 
Version,  and  especially  the  literal  translations 
from  the  Greek  contained  in  the  margins, 
at  least  suggest  points  for  inquiry. 

Thus  the  reference  to  thieves  "  who  dig 
through "  and  steal  (Matt.  vi.  19)  points 
to  the  mud  walls  of  which  many  of  the 
Jewish  houses  w^ere  built.  The  bottles 
which  were  liable  to  burst  with  new  wine 
were  "  wineskins  "  or  "  skins  used  as  bottles  " 
(Matt.  ix.  17)  which  had  become  cracked 
and  shrivelled  in  the  smoke.  It  was  a 
"  cruse  "  or  a  "  flask  "  of  ointment,  not  a 
"  box,"  which  the  woman  poured  over 
Jesus'  head  in  Simon's  house  (Matt.  xxvi.  7)  ; 
and  certainly  not  a  "  writing-table,"  as  we 
understand  it,  but  a  "  writing  tablet," 
the  small  tablet  smeared  with  wax  on  which 

79 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

words  were  traced  with  an  iron  pen,  for 
which  Zacharias  in  his  dumbness  asked 
(Luke  i.  63). 

How  expressive  too  of  the  Jewish  mode  of 
taking  food  is  the  general  statement  that 
Jesus  and  His  disciples  "  reclined  "  not  "  sat 
at  meat  "  (Matt.  ix.  10,  xiv.  19  ;  Mark  xiv. 
18).  They  surrounded,  that  is,  the  low 
stool  or  platform  which  in  the  East  did 
duty  for  a  table,  each  resting  on  his  elbow 
with  his  unsandalled  feet  outstretched  on 
the  couch  :  so  that  we  can  understand 
further  how  on  a  certain  occasion  a  woman 
that  was  a  sinner  could  come  behind  and 
wash  and  kiss  Jesus'  feet  (Luke  vii.  38) — no 
objection  being  taken  to  her  entering,  as 
in  the  hospitable  East  all  houses  were  left 
open,  and  during  a  meal  anyone  who  liked 
could  enter  and  look  on. 

What  has  just  been  said  will  also  explain 
the  sudden  change  in  St.  John's  attitude  at 
the  Last  Supper,  which  he  himself  describes 
with  vivid  pictorial  traits,  wholly  obliterated 
in  the  Authorized  Version.  ''  There  was 
at  the  table  reclining  in  Jesus'  bosom  one 
80 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

of  His  disciples,  whom  Jesus  loved.  Simon 
Peter  therefore  beckoneth  to  him,  and  saith 
unto  him.  Tell  us  who  it  is  of  whom  He 
speaketh.  He  leaning  back,  as  he  was,  on 
Jesus'  breast "  —  with  a  quick,  upward 
movement,  that  is,  raising  himself  from  his 
reclining  attitude,  and  throwing  his  head 
back  on  Jesus'  breast — "saith  unto  Him, 
Lord,  who  is  it  ?  "  (John  xiii.  23-25  ;  cf. 
xxi.  20). 

The  oral  instruction  again,  by  means 
of  which  alone  at  first  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel  were  conveyed,  is  emphasized  in  the 
margin  of  Luke  i.  4,  where  the  Evangelist 
reminds  Theophilus  of  the  things  "  which 
thou  wast  taught  by  word  of  mouth "  ; 
and  the  amended  version  of  Luke  iv.  20 
recalls  that  it  was  a  "  roll "  rather  than  a 
"  book,"  a  parchment  stretched  out  between 
two  rollers,  on  which  the  prophecy  was 
written ;  and  that  it  was  to  the  "  attendant," 
the  Chazzan  or  Clerk  of  the  Synagogue,  not 
the  "  minister "  in  our  sense,  that  Jesus 
gave  this  back,  when  He  had  done  reading. 


81 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 


3.  It  establishes  Connexions  between 
Different  Parts  of  Scripture. 

This  often  arises  from  the  observance 
of  the  rule,  to  which  as  far  as  possible  the 
Revisers  have  adhered,  of  adopting  a  uni- 
form rendering  throughout  for  the  same 
word  or  phrase.  The  opposite,  as  is  well 
known,  was  rather  the  practice  of  the  Trans- 
lators of  1611.  "Another  thing,"  they 
say  in  their  Preface,  "  we  think  good  to  ad- 
monish thee  of  (gentle  Reader)  that  we  have 
not  tied  ourselves  to  an  uniformity  of 
phrasing,  or  to  an  identity  of  words,  as 
some  peradventure  would  wish  that  we 
had  done.  .  .  .  Truly,  that  we  might  not 
vary  from  the  sense  of  that  which  we  had 
translated  before  ...  we  were  especially 
careful.  .  .  .  But,  that  we  should  express 
the  same  notion  in  the  same  particular 
word  ...  we  thought  to  savour  more  of 
curiosity  than  wisdom,  and  that  rather 
it  would  breed  scorn  in  the  Atheist  than 
bring  profit  to  the  godly  Reader.  For  is 
82 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

the  kingdom  of  God  become  words  or 
syllables  ?  " 

But  ingenious  though  this  pleading  is,  it 
is  clear  that,  if  the  principal  object  of  a 
translation  is  to  put  the  modern  reader 
as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  same  position 
as  the  reader  of  the  original,  this  can  only 
be  attained  by  the  same  word  in  the  original 
getting  as  far  as  possible  the  same  rendering 
in  the  translation. 

The  most  important  gains  in  this  direction 
occur  probably  in  the  Epistles,  but  they  are 
to  be  found  also  in  the  Gospels.  Thus, 
if  the  Greek  adverb  for  "  straightway "  ^ 
forms  one  of  the  keywords  of  St.  Mark's 
Gospel,  occurring  in  it  no  fewer  than  forty 
times,  it  is  obvious  that  this  should  not  be 
obscured  by  its  receiving  five  different 
renderings  —  "  straightway,"  "  immedi- 
ately," "forthwith,"  "anon,"  and  "as 
soon  as "  ;  while  the  equally  character- 
istic "  abide  "  ^  of  St.  John's  Gospel  is  ren- 
dered indiscriminately  "  abide,"  "  remain," 
"dwell,"  "continue,"  "tarry,"  and  "en- 

83 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

dure,"  two  of  these  different  renderings  being 
sometimes  actually  used  in  the  same  verse. 

Who  too  does  not  recognize  the  gain  of 
bringing  out  the  connexion  in  Luke  iv.  i 
between  the  statement  Jesus,  "  full  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  returned  from  the  Jordan,"  and 
the  statement  "  was  led  by  the  Spirit  in 
the  wilderness  during  forty  days  " — a  con- 
nexion obscured  in  the  Authorized  Version 
by  the  use  in  the  first  case  of  the  archaic  word 
"  Ghost  "  :  ^  between  our  Lord's  sad  ad- 
mission in  John  iii.  ii,  *'  Ye  receive  not  our 
witness,"  and  the  taking  up  by  the  Evangelist 
of  the  same  word  a  few  verses  further  on, 
"  And  no  man  receiveth  His  witness " 
(ver.  32)  :  between,  to  take  another  example 
of  the  same  emphatic  word,  "  He  (i.e.  the 
Spirit  of  truth)  shall  bear  witness  of  Me," 
and   the  immediately  following,   "  Ye   also 

1  It  is  one  of  the  gains  of  the  American  edition  of  the 
Revised  New  Testament  that  the  rendering  "  Holy 
Spirit*'  is  uniformly  adopted  for  "Holy  Ghost."  The 
whole  list  of  readings  and  renderings  preferred  by  the 
American  Committee,  as  recorded  at  the  close  of  our 
Revised  Testament,  should  be  carefully  studied. 

84 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

bear  witness  "  (John  xv.  26,  27)  :  between 
our  Lord's  injunction,  "  Work  not  for 
the  meat  which  perisheth  .  .  .,"  and  the 
disciples'  eager  question,  "  What  must  we 
do,  that  we  may  work  the  works  of  God  ?  " 
(John  vi.  27,  28)  :  between  the  identity  of 
che  sin  and  its  punishment,  "  He  will 
miserably  destroy  those  miserable  men " 
(Matt.  xxi.  41)  ^  :  and,  a  happier  example, 
between  the  teaching,  "  Every  branch  that 
beareth  fruit  He  cleanseth  it,  that  it  may 
bear  more  fruit,"  and  the  gracious  assur- 
ance, showing  that  this  work  was  accom- 
plished in  the  Apostles,  "  Already  ye  are 
clean  because  of  the  word  which  I  have 
spoken  unto  you  "  (John  xv.  2,  3).^ 

1  Cf.  the  amended  renderings  of  i  Cor.  iii.  17,  "If 
any  roan  destroyeth  the  temple  of  God,  him  shall  God 
destroy";  Col.  iii.  25  (margin),  "For  he  that  doeth 
wrong  shall  receive  again  for  the  wrong  that  he  hath  done"  ; 
and  2  Pet.  ii.  12,  "  But  these,  as  creatures  without  reason, 
born  mere  animals  to  be  taken  and  destroyed,  railing  in 
matters  whereof  they  are  ignorant,  shall  in  their  destroy- 
ing surely  be  destroyed." 

2  See  also  such  passages  as  Rom.  iv.  3-8 ;  i  Cor.  xi. 
28-34 ;  Rev.  iv.  2-4. 

8s 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 


4.  Other  Examples. 

These  examples  have  been  taken  from 
within  the  New  Testament  itself,  but  there 
is  another  class  of  connexions  which  it  is 
most  important  to  observe,  the  connexions, 
namely,  between  the  New  Testament  and 
the  Old,  between  the  later  and  the  earlier 
Dispensation.  We  have  our  Lord's  own 
distinct  statement  that  He  came  not  "  to 
destroy,"  but  "to  fulfil"  (Matt.  v.  17); 
and  it  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  this  that 
a  little  later  in  the  same  discourse  He 
places  His  own  teaching  in  contrast  not 
with  what  was  said  "  by  them  of  old  time," 
but  with  what  was  said  "  to  them  of  old 
time  "  (ver.  21).  So  far  from  annulling 
God's  previous  Revelation,  He  only  carried 
it  on  to  a  higher  stage  by  the  substitution 
of  the  inward  for  the  outward,  the  spirit 
for  the  letter. 

Therefore  it  is  that,  in  the  accounts  of  the 
institution  of  the  Last  Supper,  we  welcome 
the  change  of  "  testament,"  a  word  now 
86 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

generally  used  in  a  definite  and  restricted 
sense,  into  the  familiar  Old  Testament 
"  covenant  "  (Matt.  xxvi.  28  and  parallels, 
I  Cor.  xi.  25),  so  bringing  this  last  and  highest 
proof  of  God's  love  into  direct  line  with  all 
His  previous  promises  of  grace ;  and,  in 
the  multitude's  testimony  regarding  Jesus, 
the  substitution  of  the  definite  article  for 
the  over-translated  "  that  "— "  This  is  of  a 
truth  the  prophet  that  cometh  into  the 
world  "  (John  vi.  14),  so  carrying  back  our 
thoughts  to  the  well-known  prophet  of 
Deut.  xviii.  15,  for  whose  advent  the  Jews 
had  been  anxiously  waiting. 

Similarly,  in  the  case  of  another  of  our 
Lord's  titles,  we  know  how  ready  the 
EvangeHsts,  and  especially  the  Evangehst 
Matthew,  were  to  see  in  His  ministry  the 
fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  regarding  "  the 
servant  of  the  Lord"  in  Isa.  Hi.  13  ff.  It 
is  most  unfortunate,  therefore,  that  this 
connexion  should  be  obscured  to  the 
ordinary  English  reader  of  the  Book  of  Acts 
by  the  substitution  of  "  son  "  or  "  child  " 
for  "  servant  "  in  ch.  iii.  13,  26,  iv.  27,  30. 
87 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

Passing  to  Proper  Names,  the  Revisers 
of  the  New  Testament  have  not  hesitated 
for  the  sake  of  greater  clearness  to  depart 
from  the  Greek  forms  which,  as  a  rule,  were 
followed  in  the  Authorized  Version,  and  to 
recur  to  the  Hebrew  forms  with  which  we 
have  become  familiar  in  the  Old.  "  Let  us 
just  seek  to  realize  to  ourselves,"  says  Arch- 
bishop Trench,  "  the  difference  in  the 
amount  of  awakened  attention  among  a 
country  congregation,  which  Matt.  xvii.  lo 
would  arouse,  if  it  were  read  thus,  '  And  His 
disciples  asked  him,  saying,  Why  then  say 
the  Scribes  that  Elijah  must  first  come  ?  ' 
as  compared  with  what  it  now  is  likely  to 
create.  Elijah  is  a  person  to  them ;  the 
same  who  once  raised  the  widow's  son,  who 
on  Mount  Carmel  challenged  and  overcame 
alone  the  army  of  the  prophets  of  Baal,  who 
went  up  in  a  fire-chariot  to  heaven.  Elias 
is  for  them  but  a  name."  ^  But  this  gain 
and  many  similar  ones  are  now  secured  to 
us.  "  Abijah,"  "  Hezekiah,"  "  Isaiah," 
"  Zechariah,"  "  EHsha,"  "  Jud^a,"  meet  us, 

^  On  the  Authorized  f^ersion  of  the  New  Testament  f  p.  74. 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

where  before  we  had  the  at  best  vague 
designations,  "  Abia,"  "  Ezekias,"  "  Esaias," 
"Zacharias,"  "  Eliseus,"  "Jewry"  (Matt, 
i.  7,  10,  iii.  3,  xxiii.  35,  Luke  iv.  27,  xxiii.  5)  : 
while  *'  Sharon "  now  takes  the  place  of 
"  Saron  "  in  Acts  ix.  35,  and  "  Kish  "  of 
"  Cis  "  in  Acts  xiii.  21. 

Any  confusion  caused  by  these  last  ex- 
amples may  seem  of  comparatively  little 
moment,  but  it  is  different  with  the  use 
in  the  Authorized  Version  of  the  name 
"  Jesus  "  in  Acts  vii.  45  and  Heb.  iv.  8. 
By  the  ordinary  reader  that  name  is  at  once 
taken  as  referring  to  the  Person  of  our  Lord 
Himself,  and  only  when  his  Revised  Version 
shows  him  that  it  is  the  Old  Testament 
"  Joshua  "  who  is  intended,  can  he  under- 
stand the  two  passages  properly. 

One  other  instance  must  be  noticed  in  this 
connexion.  By  us  "  Christ  "  has  come  to 
be  recognized  as  a  Proper  Name,  and  as 
such  it  is  constantly  used  in  the  Author- 
ized Version  without  the  definite  article. 
But  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  word  is  always 
employed    in    the    Gospels,    with     certain 

89 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

trifling  exceptions,^  as  a  title  or  designation. 
It  is  "  the  Christ,"  the  Messiah,  who  is 
thought  of,  who  may,  or  may  not,  be  identi- 
fied with  the  historical  Jesus,  according  to 
the  faith  of  the  speaker.  Thus  Herod 
inquires  "  where  the  Christ  should  be 
born "  (Matt.  ii.  4)  ;  John  the  Baptist, 
when  he  hears  in  his  prison  "  the  works  of 
the  Christ,"  sends  and  asks,  "  Art  Thou 
He  that  cometh,  or  look  we  for  another  ?  " 
(Matt.  xi.  2,  3) ;  and  our  Lord  Himself 
meets  the  perplexities  of  the  two  disciples 
on  the  Emmaus  road  with  the  question, 
"  Behoved  it  not  the  Christ  to  suffer  these 
things  ?  "  (Luke  xxiv.  26).  The  disciples, 
trusting  to  their  own  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures,  were  turning  away  from  a 
suffering  and  crucified  Messiah  ;  but  now 
from  these  very  Scriptures  the  Risen  Re- 
deemer showed  them  that  it  was  just  because 
of  His  sufferings  that  He  was  the  Messiah, 
that  "  the  Christ  "  behoved  "  to  suffer  .  .  . 
and  to  enter  into  His  glory." 

So  true  is  it,  that  it  is  the  end  which  is  the 
1  e.g.  Matt.  i.  I  ;  Mark  i.  i  ;  John  i.  17. 

90 


Advantages  of  Revised  Version 

true  test  of  every  revelation,  as  we  are  again 
reminded  in  the  revised  rendering  of  one 
of  our  Lord's  most  familiar  words.  For  it  is 
not  so  much  an  injunction,  "  Search  the 
Scriptures,"  that  He  lays  upon  His  disciples, 
as  a  warning  against  putting  these  same 
Scriptures  in  a  wrong  place.  "  Ye  search 
the  Scriptures,"  so  the  translation  now 
runs,  "  because  ye  think  that  in  them  ye 
have  eternal  Hfe " — you  substitute,  that 
is,  the  Book  for  the  Person  —  forgetting 
that  "  these  [Scriptures]  are  they  which  bear 
witness  of  Me  ;  and  ye  will  not  come  to 
Me,  that  ye  may  have  hfe  "  (John  v.  39,  40). 
It  is  a  warning  of  which  we  cannot  be 
reminded  too  often,  for  only  as  our  study  of 
Holy  Writ  is  drawing  us  ever  closer  to  Him 
Who  is  not  only  "  the  Way "  but  "  the 
Truth,"  and  not  only  "the  Truth"  but 
"  the  Life,"  can  we  hope  to  find  Hfe  either 
for  ourselves  or  for  those  whom  we  are 
called  upon  to  teach. 


91 


PART    III 

THE  DOCTRINAL  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THE 
REVISED  VERSION 


THE    PERSON    AND    WORK    OF 
CHRIST 

In  the  foregoing  section,  while  ample 
testimony  was  borne  to  the  greater  accuracy 
and  clearness  of  the  new  version,  little  or 
nothing  was  said  of  its  doctrinal  significance. 
It  is  not  uncommon,  indeed,  to  hear  it 
stated  that  the  Revised  Version  has  no 
direct  bearing  upon  doctrine,  and  that, 
whatever  other  changes  it  may  effect,  it 
will  at  least  leave  the  cardinal  articles  of 
the  Christian  faith  exactly  where  it  found 
them. 

In  a  sense,  no  doubt,  this  statement  is 
true.  Though  the  witness  of  particular 
texts  may  be  altered,  or  even  disappear 
altogether,  as  in  the  case  of  the  famous 
proof -text  for  the  Trinity  (i  John  v.  7),  the 
general  balance  of  doctrinal  truth  remains 

95 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

unchanged.  No  essential  article  of  our 
creed  is  lost.  But  this  is  not  to  say  that 
no  new  light  is  cast  upon  any  of  these 
articles,  or  that  a  more  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  exact  form  in  which  the 
truths  of  Revelation  were  first  announced 
may  not  lead  to  a  considerable  modification 
in  much  of  our  popular  theology.  It  is 
impossible  in  our  present  limits  to  estab- 
lish this  as  fully  as  one  would  like.  The 
utmost  that  can  be  attempted  is  to  indicate 
a  few  of  the  passages  in  which  the  changes 
made  by  the  Revisers,  whether  caused  by  an 
improved  text  or  a  more  exact  translation  of 
the  original,  appear  to  have  a  bearing  upon 
doctrinal  truth. 

I.  The  Person  of  Christ. 

Thus,  to  begin  with  the  doctrine  of  our 
Lord's  person,  when  we  turn  to  the  much 
disputed  passage,  i  Tim.  iii.  i6,  it  is  to  find 
that  the  Revisers  in  their  marginal  note 
pronounce  strongly  in  favour  of  the  reading 
"  He  Who  "  instead  of  "  God,"  and  in  con-. 
96 


The  Person  and  Work  of  Christ 

sequence  translate,  "  And  without  con- 
troversy great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness ; 
He  Who  was  manifested  in  the  flesh."  We 
seem  at  first  sight  only  to  have  loss.  The 
passage  in  this  form  can  no  longer  be  quoted 
as  a  direct  testimony  to  the  Godhead  of 
Christ,  but  indirectly  it  surely  implies 
this  in  no  uncertain  way.  Only  of  One 
Who  Himself  existed  before,  could  it  be 
said  that  He  was  ''  manifested  in  the  flesh." 
But,  even  if  it  were  otherwise,  we  are  not 
dependent  upon  this  text  for  the  proof  of 
Christ's  Divinity,  and  any  supposed  loss 
in  this  direction  is  more  than  made  up  by 
the  new  and  striking  witness  which  we 
gain  to  the  personality  of  our  religion.  For 
it  is  not,  as  we  would  naturally  expect,  a 
neuter  relative  which  follows  the  Greek 
word  for  "  mystery,"  but  a  masculine 
pronoun  :  "  the  mystery — who."  ^  The 
mystery  is  not  a  thing,  but  a  Person,  not 
any  propositions  about  Christ,  but  Christ 
Himself  :  He  Who  was  manifested,  justified, 
seen,  preached,  believed  on,  received  up  in 

^  fJAJCTT/jpLOV'   OS. 

97 


Value  of  the   Revised  Version 

glory. ^  Or,  as  the  same  truth  is  expressed 
in  the  amended  version  of  Col.  ii.  2,  "  the 
mystery  of  God,  even  Christ."  ^  While 
with  the  description  which  follows,  "  in 
Whom  are  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge  hidden,"  we  may  compare  the 
words  of  ch.  i.  19,  "  For  it  was  the  good 
pleasure  oj  the  Father  that  in  Him  should 
all  the  fulness  dwell,"  rendered  still  more 
emphatically  in  the  margin,  "  For  the  whole 
fulness  oj  God  was  pleased  to  dwell  in  Him." 
The  Son  of  God's  love  (i.  13),^  in  (A.V.,  by) 
whom  all  things  were  created  (ver.  16),  and 
unto  (A. v.,  for)  whom,  as  to  their  goal,  all 
things  tend,  is  Himself  distinguished  not 
merely  by  "  all  fulness,"  but  by  "  the 
whole  fulness,"  the  Pleroma  of  all  the 
Divine  attributes  and  powers. 

1  See  a  striking  sermon  on  "  Personality  of  the  Gospel  " 
by  Dean  Vaughan,  in  Authorized  or  Revised?  London, 
1882,  p.  3fF. 

2  It  should  be  noted  that  the  reading  in  this  verse  is 
very  uncertain. 

3  How  much  more  expressive  than  "  His  dear  Son  " 
Cf.  Augustine  de  Trinity  xv.    19:    "  Filius  caritatis  ejus 
nullus  est  alius,  quam  qui  de  substantia  ejus  est  genitus."  • 

98 


The  Person  and  Work  of  Christ 

Other  passages  which,  in  their  revised 
form,  bear  more  or  less  distinctly  on  the 
Divinity  of  our  Lord  are  John  v.  i8,  where 
the  adjective  is  recognized  as  having  the 
full  emphatic  force,  which  it  does  not 
always  possess  in  late  Greek,  "  but  also 
called  God  His  own  Father,  making  Himself 
equal  with  God  "  ;  Acts  xvi.  7,  where  the 
striking  reading  "  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  "  (not 
simply,  as  in  the  Authorised  Version,  "  the 
Spirit  ")  implies  that  the  Holy  Spirit  had 
so  taken  possession  of  the  Person  of  the 
Exalted  Jesus  that  He  could  be  spoken  of  as 
''  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  "  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  5,  where 
the  sum  of  Apostolic  teaching  is  declared 
to  be  the  preaching  of  "  Christ  Jesus  as 
Lord,"  "  Lord "  in  the  PauHne  Epistles 
being  apparently  generally  used  with  refer- 
ence to  the  risen  and  glorified  Redeemer ; 
Tit.  ii.  13,  where  a  slight  change  in  the 
translation  and  improved  punctuation  show 
that  "  the  appearing  of  the  glory,"  the  fulfil- 
ment, that  is,  of  the  symbolical  appearances 
of  "  the  glory  of  the  Lord  "  in  the  Old 
Testament,   is   associated   with   "  our  great 

99 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,"  not  two 
persons,  but  one  (cf.  2  Pet.  i.  i)  ;  and 
I  Pet.  iii.  15,  "  Sanctify  in  your  hearts 
Christ  as  Lord,"  where,  in  borrowing  his 
language  from  Isa.  viii.  13,  the  Apostle 
directly  identifies  Christ  with  Jehovah,  and 
so  attests  His  deity  in  the  most  unequivocal 
manner.  Archbishop  Alexander  indeed 
singles  out  this  verse  as  more  than  any 
other  assuring  him  of  the  Divinity  of 
Jesus,  and  adds  that  its  "  restoration 
to  its  rightful  force  outweighs  nearly  all 
that  can  be  said  against  the  Revised  Ver- 
sion." ^ 

To  these  may  be  added  the  remarkable 
marginal  rendering  "  God  only  begotten," 
in  John  i.  18,  which  points  to  One  Who  is 
both  God  and  Son  ^ ;  and  John  viii.  58, 
"  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am,"  where  again 
the  marginal  note  makes  clear  that  different 
words  are  used  in  the  original  to  describe 
the    being    of    Abraham    and    of    Christ — 

1  The  Divinity  of  our  Lord  (in  the  series  of  "  Helps  to 
Belief"),  p.  66. 
*  /Aovoycv^s  ©eos. 

100 


The  Person  and  Work  of  Christ 

''  Before  Abraham  was  born,"  came  into 
being  from  a  previous  non-existent  state, 
"  I  am,"  I  necessarily  and  eternally  am.^ 
As  an  example  of  a  slight  but  significant 
change,  may  be  mentioned  the  rendering 
"  offered  "  for  "  presented  "  in  Matt.  ii.  ii, 
bringing  the  verse  into  harmony  with  the 
numerous  passages  in  the  Septuagint  and 
the  New  Testament,  where  the  same  Greek 
word  is  used  of  religious  offerings  in  worship 
to  God.* 

With  reference  to  the  other  side  of  our 
Lord's  person.  His  human  nature,  it  must  be 

^  Trpiv  'A/Spaafx,  yeviaOai,  eyto  elfii.  Cf.  2  Pet.  i.  4, 
"  That  through  these  ye  may  become  partakers  of  the 
divine  nature." 

2  7rpo(T(f>€p(x).  It  may  be  noted  that  the  significant 
change  of  tense  in  the  two  occurrences  of  this  verb  in 
Heb.  xi.  1 7  is  now  brought  out  in  the  Revised  Version  : 
"  By  faith  Abraham,  being  tried,  hath  offered  up 
(margin)  Isaac:  yea,  he  that  had  gladly  received  the 
promises  was  offering  up  his  only  begotten  son."  "  The 
first  verb  [^Trpoaevrjvox^v,  perfect  tense]  expresses  the 
permanent  result  of  the  offering  completed  by  Abraham 
in  will:  the  second  [jrpo(re(f>€p€v,  imperfect  tense],  his 
actual  readiness  in  preparing  the  sacrifice  which  was  not 
literally  carried  into  effect"  (Westcott  ad loc). 

lOI 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

sufficient  to  point  to  Phil.  ii.  5-8  with  the 
accompanying  marginal  notes,  which  here, 
as  throughout  the  Revised  Version,  are  of 
the  utmost  value  in  bringing  the  exact  force 
of  the  Greek  before  the  English  reader. 
Starting  with  the  thought  of  Christ's 
Divinity,  the  Apostle  proceeds  to  tell  us 
how  He  Who  was  thus  originally  in  the  form 
of  God  counted  not  this  equality  of  being 
with  God  "  a  prize,"  a  thing  to  be  grasped 
at  or  retained,  as  compared  with  what  by 
sacrifice  He  might  effect  for  our  sakes,  but 
"  emptied  Himself,"  this  great  act  involving, 
rather  than  followed  by  (as  the  Authorized 
Version  suggests),  the  two  great  steps, 
"  taking  the  form  of  a  servant  (bond- 
servant)," and  "  being  made  (becoming)  in 
the  likeness  of  men,"  while  these  in  turn 
led  to  the  lowest  step  of  all,  "  the  death  of 
the  Cross."  How  clearly  as  we  note  the 
changes,  and  more  particularly  that  one 
bold  expression  "  emptied  Himself,"  so 
different  from  the  paraphrastic  "  made 
Himself  of  no  reputation,"  is  the  tremendous 
reality  of  our  Lord's  humiliation  brought 
102 


The  Person  and  Work  of  Christ 

home  to  us.     And  in  the  verses  that  follow 
what  new  dignity  is  added  to  the  exaltation 
by  "the   (not    "a")    name  which  is  above 
every   name,"   which   God   gives   to   Jesus, 
"in  (not    "at")  which   every  knee   should 
bow."  ^     There  can  be  Httle  doubt  that  the 
name  here  referred  to  is  the  human  name 
Jesus,   and   not   the   Divine   title   Lord,   as 
many    are    tempted    to    imagine.     And    in 
this  connexion  we  may  recall  such  passages 
as  the  following,  where  the  use  of  the  simple 
name  fixes  the  emphasis  on  the  person  of  the 
Lord  in  His  true  humanity— Luke  xxiii.  42, 
"  And  he  said,  Jesus,  remember  me  when 
Thou  comest  in  Thy  Kingdom  "  ;  i  John  i.  7, 
"  The  blood  of  Jesus  His  Son  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin"  ;  and  Heb.  iii.  i,  "  Wherefore, 
holy    brethren,    partakers    of    a    heavenly 
calUng,    consider    the    Apostle    and    High 
Priest  of  our  confession,  even  Jesus."     The 

1  It  is  curious  that  the  Authorized  rendering  "  at  the 
name  of  Jesus,'*  should  first  be  found  in  the  Genevan 
Testament  of  1557,  and  that  consequently  this  version 
should  have  been  the  means  of  establishing  one  of  those 
outward  ceremonies  against  which  the  Genevan  Reformers 
set  themselves  so  strongly. 

103 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

last  instance  is  specially  important,  in  view 
of  the  frequency  with  which  in  this  great 
Epistle  the  human  name  stands  alone,  and 
sometimes  as  here  with  marked  emphasis, 
with  reference  to  our  Lord.^ 

2.  The  Work  of  Christ. 

When  we  pass  from  the  Person  to  the 
Work  of  Christ,  the  doctrinal  consequences 
attending  certain  improved  renderings  are 
even  more  significant  than  those  we  have 
already  noticed.  Thus  it  is  the  constant 
practice  of  Scripture,  and  more  particularly 
of  the  Pauline  Epistles,  to  regard  the  change 
wrought  in  the  believer  in  an  ideal  light. 
The  change  from  death  to  life,  though 
practically  only  gradually  realized,  is  pre- 
sented as  ideally  complete,  "  summed  up," 
as  Bishop  Lightfoot  puts  it,  ''  in  one  definite 
act  of  the  past ;  potentially  to  all  men  in 
our  Lord's  Passion  and  Resurrection,  actually 
to   each   individual   man   when   he   accepts 

1  Cf.  ch.  ii.  9,  vi.  20,  vii.  22,  x.  19,  xii.  2,  24,  xiii. 

12. 

104 


The  Person  and  Work  of  Christ 

Christ,  is  baptized  into  Christ."  ^  And 
by  way  of  illustration  he  points  to  such 
important  doctrinal  passages  as  Rom.  vi.  2, 
2  Cor.  V.  14,  and  Col.  iii.  3,  where  the 
Revisers  have  translated  the  Greek  aorists 
as  referring  to  a  definite  past  time — "  We 
who  died  to  sin,  how  shall  we  any  longer 
live  therein  ?  "  "  For  the  love  of  Christ 
constraineth  us ;  because  we  thus  judge, 
that  one  died  for  all,  therefore  all  died." 
*'  For  ye  died,  and  your  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God."  ^ 

The  extent  of  Christ's  redeeming  work, 
as  including  potentially  all  mankind,  to 
mention  another  point,  gains  also  new 
witness   from   the    Revised   Version.     Read 

^  On  a  Fresh  Revision  of  the  English  Neiv  Testament^ 
3rd  ed.,  London,  1891,  p.  94. 

2  It  is  a  common  criticism  that  the  Revisers  have 
carried  their  renderings  of  the  aorist  as  a  dejinite  past  too 
far,  and  it  must  be  kept  in  view  that  our  simple  past  tense 
does  not  always  coincide  in  meaning  with  the  Greek 
aorist,  any  more  than  our  perfect  tense  always  corresponds 
with  the  Greek  perfect ;  see  the  important  statement  by 
Moulton,  Prolegomena  to  a  Grammar  of  Neiv  Testament 
Greeks  Edinburgh,  1908,  p.  135  ff. 

105 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

Rom.  V.  15-19  as  in  the  Authorized  Version, 
and  the  benefits  of  one  man's  obedience 
would  seem  to  be  confined  to  "  many  "  ; 
but  give  the  definite  articles  before  "  one  " 
and  "  many  "  their  proper  force,  as  in  the 
Revised  Version,  and  then  it  v^ill  be  seen 
"  that  the  many^^  in  an  antithesis  to  the 
one,  are  equivalent  to  all,^  in  ver.  12,  and 
comprehend  the  v^hole  multitude,  the  entire 
species  of  mankind,  exclusive  only  of  the 
oneP  ^  The  reason  v^hy  the  term,  "  the 
many,"  is  used  being,  as  Godet  has  well 
pointed  out,  in  order  to  establish  this 
contrast  with  the  one  :  "  all  would  be 
opposed  to  some,  and  not  to  oneP  "  So  then 
as  through  one  trespass  the  judgment  came 
unto  all  men  to  condemnation ;  even  so 
through  one  act  of  righteousness  the  free 
gift  came  unto  all  men  to  justification  of 
Hfe"  (ver.  18). 

1  ol  TToXXot.  ^  iravTcs. 

3  Bentley,  Works  (ed.  Dyce),  iii.  p.  244.  The  passage 
will  be  found  in  Lightfoot,  ut  supra,  p.  108,  or,  more  fully, 
in  Trench,  ut  supra,  p.  1 3  5  f» 


106 


II 

THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE 

Life,  life  not  in  ourselves,  but  in  Christ, 
that   is   the   promise   of   the   Gospel ;    and 
short   of   "  the  hfe   which  is   life  indeed " 
(i    Tim.   vi.    19),  we   cannot  rest   satisfied. 
Death  to  sin,  forgiveness  however  absolute 
and   complete,   are    at    best    but    starting- 
points.     What  a  man  longs  after  is  restored 
communion  with  God,  that  knowledge  of 
God  which,  as   our  Lord  Himself  teaches, 
is   of  the  very  essence   of   the  life   eternal 
(John  xvii.   3).     Atonement,  if  it  is  to  be 
truly  deserving  of  the  name,  must  issue  in 
at-one-ment.     And    it    is    perhaps    because 
this  old  EngHsh  word  has  lost  its  original 
meaning,    as    well    as    for    consistency    of 
rendering,  that  the  Revisers  have  removed 
it  from  the  only  place  in  which  it  occurs  in 
our  EngHsh  Bibles,   and   that   Rom.   v.    il 
107 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

now  reads  :  "  But  we  also  rejoice  in  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through 
whom  we  have  now  received  the  reconcilia- 
tion." Reconciliation,  indeed,  the  recon- 
ciliation of  God  to  man,  and  man  to  God, 
is,  as  we  learn  elsewhere,  the  great  message 
entrusted  to  Christ's  ambassadors  (2  Cor.  v. 
18-20),  and  the  man  who  accepts  it  is  more 
than  pardoned  ;  there  is  "  a  new  creation  " 
(2  Cor.  V.  17  margin).^ 

I.  Life  in  Christ. 

How  beautifully,  too,  this  our  new  state 
is  brought  before  us  in  the  revised  rendering 
of  Eph.  ii.  13,  "  But  now  in  Christ  Jesus 
ye  that  once  were  far  off  are  made  nigh  in 
the  blood  of  Christ."  Already  in  ch.  i.  7 
St.  Paul  has  spoken  of  the  blood  of  Christ 
as  the  causa  medians  of  our  redemption — 
"  in  whom  we  have  our  redemption  through 
His    blood."     Now    he    brings    that    blood 

1  A  different  side  of  Christ's  work  appears  in  Heb.  ii. 
17,  where  another  Greek  word  (tXao-Kco-^at)  is  now  rightly 
rendered  "  to  make  propitiation  '*  not  **  reconciliation." 
108 


The  Christian  Life 

before  us  (and  it  must  be  kept  in  view  that 
in  Scripture  blood  is  always  conceived  of  as 
living,  and  that  therefore  by  the  blood  of 
Christ  we  must  understand  not  His  death, 
but  His  life,  won  through  death,  in  heaven)  ^ 
as  the  abiding  condition  or  power  "in" 
which  we  draw  near. 

The  truth  is  so  important  that  it  may  be 
well  to  illustrate  it  a  little  further.     When, 
for  example,  with  our  ordinary  version  we 
are  assured  that  "  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal 
life,    through     Jesus     Christ     our     Lord" 
(Rom.  vi.  23),  we  do  not  necessarily  think  of 
more  than  that  Christ  has  worked  a  work  on 
our   behalf,   which   entitles   us   to   share  in 
eternal  Hfe.     But  when  we  find  that  the 
real    rendering  of    the  word  is,  "the  free 
gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  in  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord,"  then  we  realize  that  this  life,  so  far 
from    being    an    endowment    apart    from 
Christ,  can  only  be  enjoyed  in  living  union 
with  Him,   and  necessarily  brings   with^  it 
all  the  accompaniments  which  such  a  union 

1  Cf.   W.    Milligan,    The    Resurrection   of    Our  Lord, 
London,  1884,  p.  290  fF. 

109 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

involves.  The  believer  is  "  persuaded  in 
('  by,'  Authorized  Version)  the  Lord  Jesus  " 
(Rom.  xiv.  14)  ;  he  has  "  his  glorying  in 
('  through,'  Authorized  Version)  Christ 
Jesus  "  (Rom.  xv.  17)  ;  in  everything  he  is 
"  enriched  in  ('  by,'  Authorized  Version) 
Him  "  (i  Cor.  i.  5). 

The  duty  of  Christian  forgiveness  again 
is  made  by  St.  Paul  to  rest  upon  the  fact 
that  "  God  also  in  Christ  forgave  you " 
(Eph.  iv.  32),  instead  of  "  for  Christ's  sake," 
a  familiar  phrase  that  now^  w^hoUy  disappears 
from  the  Authorized  Version.  And  the 
same  Apostle  in  one  of  the  most  personal 
of  his  Epistles  can  make  it  his  proud  claim, 
"  I  can  do  all  things  in  Him  ('  through 
Christ,'  Authorized  Version)  that  strength- 
eneth  me  "  (Phil.  iv.  13),  even  as  he  conveys 
a  like  assurance  to  his  converts,  "  my  God 
shall  fulfil  ('  supply,'  Authorized  Version) 
every  need  of  yours  according  to  His  riches 
in  glory  in  (*  by,'  Authorized  Version) 
Christ  Jesus  "  (Phil.  iv.  19). 

Still  other  passages  where  the  same  pre- 
position has  now  got  its  proper  force,  which 
no 


The  Christian  Life 

have  a  more  or  less  doctrinal  significance, 
are  Rom.  v.  21,  where  the  contrast  between 
"  sin  in  death  "  and  "  grace  unto  eternal 
life "  is  very  instructive ;  Col.  i.  16,  17, 
where  the  original  creation  of  all  things 
"  in  "  Christ,  as  their  initial  cause,  is  shown 
to  precede  their  coming  into  existence 
"  through "  Him,  the  mediatorial  Lord, 
and  their  final  return  "  unto  "  Him  as  their 
end  and  goal ;  and  i  Tim.  iii.  16,  where 
"  in  glory  "  marks  Christ's  state  before  and 
at  Ascension,  as  well  as  after. 

There  are  two  Greek  prepositions,  both  of 
which  are  ordinarily  translated  "  from,"  ^ 
but  to  the  second  of  which  the  stronger 
meaning  "  out  of  "  can  also  be  assigned,  as 
the  Revisers  have  recognized  in  at  least  two 
important  passages,  though  unfortunately 
they  have  confined  the  emendation  to  the 
margin.  In  John  xii.  32  our  Lord's  claim 
is  not,  "  And  I,  if  I  be  Hfted  up  from  the 
earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  Me,"  words 
which  would  naturally  confine  His  saving 
and  attractive  power  to  His   death  ;    but, 

^  ttTTO,  eK, 

III 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

"  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  out  of  the  earth," 
in  which  the  thought  of  His  resurrection 
is  also  included.  It  is  the  living  Lord,  Who 
has  reached  His  own  glory  through  suffering 
and  death,  Who  is  to  exercise  a  universal 
sway,  in  strict  conformity  with  the  teaching 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  :  "  But  we 
behold  Him  who  hath  been  made  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels,  even  Jesus,  because 
of  the  suffering  of  death  crowned  with  glory 
and  honour,  that  by  the  grace  of  God  He 
should  taste  death  for  every  man  "  (Heb.  ii. 
9).  And  similarly  in  the  same  Epistle  the 
real  tenor  of  our  Lord's  prayers  in  the 
Garden  is  represented  as  being,  not  that 
He  should  be  delivered  "  from  "  death,  but 
"  out  of "  death,  brought  safely,  that  is, 
through  death  into  a  new  life  :  "  Who  in 
the  days  of  His  flesh,  having  offered  up 
prayers  and  supplications  with  strong  crying 
and  tears  unto  Him  that  was  able  to  save 
Him  out  of  death,  and  having  been  heard 
for  His  godly  fear,  though  He  was  a  Son, 
yet  learned  obedience  by  the  things  which 
He  suffered  "  (Heb.  v.  7,  8). 
112 


The  Christian  Life 

To  return,  however,  to  the  great  truth 
of  the  life  of  the  beHever  in  Christ,  we  may 
still  cite  one  or  two  fresh  illustrations 
which  it  receives  in  the  Revised  Version. 
A  familiar  one  occurs  in  our  Lord's  analogy 
of  the  Vine  and  the  branches,  for,  as  we 
now  read,  it  is  "  apart  from,"  and  not 
merely  "  without  "  Him,  the  central  Vine, 
that  the  branches  "  can  do  nothing " 
(John  XV.  5).  Or,  again,  in  St.  Paul's 
favourite  figure  of  the  Body  and  the  mem- 
bers, how  much  is  gained  by  the  substitution 
of  "  made  full "  for  "  complete  "  in  Col.  ii. 
10.  "  In  Him,"  that  is  in  Christ,  so  the 
Apostle  has  just  been  declaring,  "  dwelleth 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,  and," 
he  continues,  "  in  Him  ye  are  made  full." 
It  is  actually  in  Christ's  own  fulness,  the 
fulness  just  spoken  of,  that  His  people  are 
entitled  to  share.  And,  once  more,  it  is 
coming  unto  Him,  "  a  living  stone,"  that  they 
also,  "  as  living  stones,"  are  built  up  a  spiritual 
house  (i  Pet.  ii.  4,  5) — the  substitution  of 
"  lively  "  for  "  living  "  in  the  Authorized 
Version  quite  obscuring  the  parallelism. 

113 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 


2.  Sanctification. 

The  mention  of  building  up,  of  a  pro- 
gressive growth  in  holiness,  leads  us  to  ask 
next.  What  has  the  Revised  Version  to 
teach  us  regarding  the  great  doctrine  of 
sanctification  ? 

One  thing  certainly,  constantly  lost  sight 
of,  is  made  clear,  namely,  that  sanctification 
is  not  so  much  a  consequence  of  salvation 
as  an  integral  part  of  it.  It  is  "  in 
sanctification  "  rather  than  "  unto  holiness  " 
that  "  God  called  us  "  (i  Thess.  iv.  7),  or, 
more  fully,  v^e  are  chosen  "  from  the  begin- 
ning unto  salvation  in  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth  "  (2  Thess.  iii. 
13).  "  In  "  the  will  of  God,  that  is,  which 
Christ  has  perfectly  fulfilled.  Christians  are 
included,  and  therefore  sanctified  (see  Heb. 
X.  10,  margin). 

But  this  is  far  from  saying  that  sanctifica- 
tion on  our  part  can  be  realized  all  at  once. 
The  Christian  beHever,  though  ideally 
complete  in  Christ  from  the  moment  of 
114 


The  Christian  Life 

his  living  union  with  Him,  still  knows  from 
practical  experience  that  it  is  only  slowly 
and  gradually  that  he  can  hope  to  apprehend 
the  full  privileges  and  duties  of  his  new 
condition.  And  hence  it  is  that  the  early 
converts  of  the  Christian  Church  can  be 
described  not  as  "  saved,"  but  as  "  being 
saved  "  (Acts  ii.  47),^  or  that,  writing  to  the 
Corinthians,  St.  Paul  can  speak  of  the  word 
of  the  Cross  as  the  power  of  God  "  unto 
us  which  are  being  saved  "  (i  Cor.  i.  18).* 
The  use  of  the  perfect  tense  in  the  revised 
translation  of  Eph.  ii.  5,  "  By  grace  have 
ye  been  saved,"  and  the  description  of  the 
new  man  as  "  being  renewed  "  in  Col.  iii.  10, 
point  in  the  same  direction.  While  the 
ever-advancing  goal  towards  which  the 
believer  is  to  press  comes  out  clearly  in 
St.  Paul's  prayer  for  his  converts  "  that  ye 

2  Cf.  2  Cor.  ii.  1 5  and  the  interesting  gloss  in  Rom. 
xiii.  II,"  Now  is  salvation  nearer  to  us  than  when  we 
^rst  believed  (ore  eTrio-rcvo-a/xcv),"  where  the  Revisert 
have  inserted  the  word  Jirst  to  emphasize  the  contrass 
between  full  and  final  salvation,  and  the  definite  moment 
in  the  past  when  belief  first  manifested  itself. 

"5 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

may  be  filled  unto  (*  with,'  Authorized 
Version)  all  the  fulness  of  God  "  (Eph.  iii. 
19),  and  in  the  words  of  the  following 
chapter,  "  till  we  all  attain  unto  the  unity 
('  come  in  the  unity,'  Authorized  Version) 
of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
Son  of  God,  unto  a  fullgrown  ('  perfect,' 
Authorized  Version)  man,  unto  the  measure 
of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ " 
(ch.  iv.  13). 

The  word  rendered  *'  fullgrown  "  in  this 
last  verse  is  in  itself  very  significant.  Liter- 
ally it  means  that  which  has  reached  the 
goal,  the  end,  of  its  existence.  No  single 
word  in  English  altogether  expresses  this. 
"  Fullgrown  "  is  perhaps  as  literal  a  trans- 
lation as  possible,  and  is  certainly  better 
than  the  Authorized  "  perfect,"  which  is 
apt  to  convey  an  erroneous  impression.  It 
is  unfortunate,  therefore,  that  the  Revisers 
have  not  adopted  it  in  i  Cor.  xiv.  20, 
Phil.  iii.  15,  Col.  i.  28,  iv.  12,  and  James  iii. 
2,  as  well  as  here,  and  in  i  Cor.  ii.  6  (margin) 
and  Heb.  v.  14. 

But  however  we  describe  the  new  life 
116 


The  Christian  Life 

to  which  believers  attain  in  Christ,  the 
main  point  to  be  kept  in  view  is  that  it 
is  a  "  new  "  Hfe,  and  not  merely  a  reviving 
or  deepening  of  the  old  :  "  the  old  things 
are  passed  away ;  behold  they  ('  all  things/ 
Authorized  Version)  are  become  new " 
(2  Cor.  V.  17).  And  the  reason  of  this  is 
that  its  standard  is  derived  from  the  heavenly 
and  Divine  Jesus,  so  that  "  if  we  have 
become  united  with  Him  by  the  like- 
ness of  His  death,  we  shall  be  also  by  the 
likeness  of  His  resurrection"  (Rom.  vi.  5). 
Hence  it  is  that  believers  receive  the  right 
to  become  "  children,"  and  not  merely 
"sons"  of  God  (John  i.  12),^  and  that  we 
catch  the  full  meaning  of  such  a  passage 
as,  "  We  all,  with  unveiled  face  reflect- 
ing as  a  mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
are  transformed  into  the  same  image  from 
glory  to  glory,  even  as  from  the  Lord  the 
Spirit"  (2  Cor.  iii.  18).  BeHevers,  as  they 
steadfastly  contemplate  their  Lord,  gradually 

1  TcKva  points  to  community  of  nature  as  distinguished 
from  vloL,  which  might  denote  merely  dignity  of  heirship. 
Cf.  Phil.  ii.  15  ;    i  John  iii.  i,  2. 

117 


Value  of  the   Revised  Version 

grow  more  and  more  like  to  Him  :  they  are 
not  merely  "  followers,"  but  "  imitators  " 
of  Christ  (i  Cor.  xi.  i ;  Eph.  v.  i  ;  i  Thess. 
i.  6),  and,  in  obedience  to  the  working  of  an 
irresistible  law,  "  become  partakers  of  the 
divine  nature  "  (2  Pet.  i.  4). 

Is  it  not  a  similar  victory  of  "  the  Spirit  " 
in  believers  which  underlies  the  amended 
translation  of  Gal.  v.  17  ?  As  we  read 
the  verse  in  the  Authorized  Version,  "  For 
the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the 
spirit  against  the  flesh  :  and  these  are 
contrary  the  one  to  the  other  :  so  that  ye 
cannot  do  the  things  that  ye  would,"  St. 
Paul  would  seem  to  be  adding  only  another 
to  the  many  passages  in  which  he  reminds  us 
that,  notwithstanding  our  best  wishes  and 
intentions,  sin  is  ever  present  with  us.  But 
read  the  last  words,  as  in  the  Revised  Version, 
"  that  ye  may  not  do  the  things  that  ye 
would,"  and  we  are  introduced  to  the 
comforting  thought  of  a  constraining  power 
within  us  which  prevents  us  from  doing 
what  we  might  otherwise  incline  to.  The 
victory  now  rests  with  the  Spirit,  and  not 
118 


The  Christian  Life 

with  the  flesh.  Or,  as  St.  Paul  states  the 
same  truth  elsewhere  from  another  point 
of  view  :  "  Him  who  knew  no  sin  He  (/.<?. 
God)  made  to  be  sin  on  our  behalf ;  that 
we  might  become  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  Him  "  (2  Cor.  v.  21),  where  "  become," 
not  "  be  made,"  as  in  the  Authorized  Version, 
lays  stress  on  the  gradual  but  inevitable 
transformation  of  those  who  are  vitally 
united  to  God  in  Christ. 

Very  striking,  too,  as  bringing  out  the 
natural  evolution  of  the  Christian  graces,  is 
the  amended  version  of  2  Pet.  i.  5-7  :  "  In 
your  faith  supply  virtue  ;  and  in  your  virtue 
knowledge ;  and  in  your  knowledge  tem- 
perance .  .  ."  and  so  on  through  the  famihar 
Hst,  where  the  use  of  "  in  "  in  place  of  "  to  " 
implies  not  merely  a  catalogue  of  the  graces, 
but  their  necessary  dependence  upon  one 
another.  The  last  clause,  "  and  in  your 
love  of  the  brethren  love,"  strange  and 
tautological  though  at  first  it  sounds,  has 
been  claimed  as  teaching  no  less  a  truth 
than  that  "  love,  the  feeling  of  man  for 
man  as  man,  finds,  and  can  only  find,  its 
119 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

true  foundation  in  the  feeling  of  Christian 
for  Christian,  realised  in  and  through  the 
Incarnation  of  the  Word."  ^ 

3.  The  Sacraments. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Sacraments  may 
next  engage  our  attention,  and  here  again 
the  variations  in  the  renderings  of  familiar 
texts,  though  they  may  not  appear  at  first 
of  great  importance,  involve  far-reaching 
truths.  Thus  Baptism  is  no  longer  repre- 
sented as  "  in  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost " 
(Matt,  xxviii.  19),  as  if  there  were  a  kind 
of  sacred  charm  in  the  mere  words,  but  it 
is  baptism  "  into  the  name  .  .  .,"  as  the 
expression,  that  is,  according  to  the  common 
Scriptural  use  of  the  word,  of  the  whole 
character  of  the  Triune  God,  the  sum  of 
the  whole  Christian  revelation.  The  know- 
ledge of  God  as  Father,  the  spiritual  birth- 
right of  Sonship,  the  power  and  advocacy 
of    the    Holy    Spirit — all    these    privileges 

1  Bishop  Westcott,  Expository  Times,  iii.  p.  396. 
120 


The  Christian  Life 

belong  to  those  who  in  divinely-appointed 
rite  are  incorporated  into  the  Divine  Name.^ 
It  is  only  right,  however,  to  notice  that  the 
old  translation  "  in  the  name  "  is  strongly 
upheld  by  many  modern  scholars,  who  are 
able  to  appeal  to  the  frequency  with  which 
the  Greek  preposition  for  "  into "  ^  is 
used  for  the  Greek  preposition  for  "  in  "  * 
in  late  Greek. 

In  the  case  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the 
well-known  description  in  i  Cor.  xi.  sup- 
plies us  with  an  alteration  which  at  once 
arrests  our  attention.  In  ver.  27  the  Re- 
visers, following  the  best-supported  Greek 
text,  substitute  "  or  "  for  ''  and  " —  "  Where- 
fore whosoever  shall  eat  the  bread  or  drink 
the  cup  of  the  Lord  unworthily,  shall  be 
guilty  of  the  body  and  the  blood  of  the 
Lord."  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that 
no  support  is  thereby  given  to  the  Romish 

1  Cf.  Acts  viii.  16,  xix.  5.  The  translators  of  the 
Authorized  Version  have  given  the  preposition  (ct?)  its 
full  force  in  Rom.  vi.  3  ;   i  Cor.  x.  2,  xii.  13  ;  Gal.  iii. 

27. 

^  €tS.  '  €V. 

121 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

practice  of  administering  the  sacrament 
to  the  laity  only  in  one  kind.  Any  such 
inference  lies  wholly  beyond  the  scope  of 
the  words,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  is  dis- 
proved by  various  other  statements  in  this 
very  chapter.  But  without  pressing  the 
new  reading  unduly,  we  may  at  least  notice 
how  it  emphasizes  the  truth  we  are  otherwise 
prepared  for,  that  the  two  parts  of  the 
rite  have  distinct  meanings.  The  Bread — 
that  is,  the  Body  of  Christ — recalls  more 
particularly  His  Incarnation,  apart  from 
His  sufferings ;  for  it  is  noteworthy  that 
our  Lord  says  nothing  over  the  Bread  to 
connect  it  directly  with  the  thought  of  an 
offering  for  sin ;  ^  whereas  the  Cup — that 
is,  His  Blood — is  definitely  associated  with 
His  atoning  work,  "  This  cup  is  the  new 
covenant  in  My  blood  :   this  do,  as  often  as 

1  In  I  Cor.  xi.  24  the  word  for  "broken"  (  kXw/xcvov  ) 
disappears  according  to  the  best  reading.  Similarly  in 
Luke  xxii.  19  the  words  "which  is  given  for  you"  are, 
as  we  learn  from  the  marginal  note,  of  doubtful  authority. 
They  may  have  formed,  with  the  corresponding  words  in 
ver.  20,  part  of  an  early  tradition,  which  was  afterwards 
incorporated  in  the  Evangelic  text. 
122 


The  Christian  Life 

ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance  of  Me,"  or, 
as  the  same  truth  appears  still  more  clearly 
in  the  account  in  the  First  Gospel,  "  And 
He  took  a  cup,  and  gave  thanks,  and  gave  to 
them,  saying.  Drink  ye  all  of  it ;  for  this 
is  My  blood  of  the  covenant,  which  is  shed 
for  many  unto  remission  of  sins  "  (Matt, 
xxvi.  27,  28).  "  We  are  not  first  purified 
from  our  sins  and  then  incorporated  into 
Christ.  When  we  have  been  brought,  just 
as  we  are,  into  the  communion  of  His  Body, 
then  we  are  in  a  position  to  receive  the 
cleansing  action  of  His  once  outpoured 
Blood."  1 

^  Mason,    The   Faith   of  the    Gospel^    London,    1888, 
P-  305- 


123 


Ill 

THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  AND  FREE  WILL 

I.  The  Holy  Spirit. 

When  we  pass  to  passages  in  the  Revised 
Version  bearing  on  the  doctrine  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  we  cannot  but  again  join  in 
the  widely-expressed  regret  that  the  Revisers 
did  not  see  their  way  to  follow  the  example 
of  their  American  colleagues  and  adopt 
the  uniform  rendering  of  "  Spirit  "  for  the 
Greek  word  by  which  the  Third  Person  of 
the  Trinity  is  described,  instead  of  retaining 
in  numerous  passages  the  archaic  word 
"  Ghost."  ^  For  not  only  is  the  word  now 
meaningless,  except  in  the  sense  of  dis- 
embodied spirit,  but  its  use  obscures  the 
vital  relation  between  the  spirit  of  man  and 
the  Spirit  of  God.  That  yielding  to  the 
1  Cf.  p.  8i. 
124 


The  Holy  Spirit  and  Free  Will 

demands  of  the  context,  the  Revisers  read 
Spirit  in  certain  passages  —  such  as  Luke 
ii.  25-27,  *'  the  Holy  Spirit  was  upon 
him  ...  it  had  been  revealed  unto  him 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  ...  he  came  in  the 
Spirit,"  or  iv.  i,  "  Jesus,  full  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  .  .  .  was  led  by  the  Spirit  in  the 
wilderness  during  forty  days,  being  tempted 
of  the  devil,"  or  i  Cor.  xii.  3,  4,  "  and  no 
man  can  say,  Jesus  is  Lord,  but  in  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Now  there  are  diversities  of  gifts, 
but  the  same  Spirit.  And  there  are 
diversities  of  ministrations,  and  the  same 
Lord  " — only  makes  us  wish  the  more  that 
it  had  been  consistently  maintained. 

Similarly  when  we  pass  to  the  description 
of  the  Spirit's  work  in  our  Lord's  great 
Farewell  Discourse.  Here  again  (John  xiv. 
16,  26,  XV.  26,  xvi.  7),  contrary  to  expecta- 
tion, the  translation  "  Comforter "  has 
retained  its  place  in  the  text ;  but  the 
margin  at  least  supplies  us  with  the  more 
exact  rendering  "  Advocate."  For  the 
Greek  word  ^  is  passive,  not  active,  in  force, 

^  irapaLKXrjTOS. 

125 


Value  of  the   Revised  Version 

and  denotes  literally  one  who  is  summoned 
to  the  side  of  an  accused  man  to  aid  him 
in  his  defence  in  a  court  of  justice,  rather 
than  one  who  simply  consoles,  or  even 
strengthens  according  to  the  original  force 
of  "  comforter."  By  the  observance  of 
this,  not  only  is  the  full  range  of  the 
Spirit's  advocacy  brought  home  to  us,  but 
we  are  also  reminded  of  the  close  connexion 
between  His  work  and  the  work  of  our 
Lord.  It  is  He  "  who  Himself  is  our 
Advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the 
righteous  "  (i  John  ii.  i),  who  promises 
that  He  will  "  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall 
give  you  another  Advocate,  that  He  may  be 
with  you  for  ever,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth  " 
(John  xiv.  1 6). 

The  personality  of  the  Spirit  gains,  too, 
new  emphasis  from  the  use  of  masculine 
pronouns  in  Rom.  viii.  i6  and  26,  "  The 
Spirit  Himself  beareth  witness  with  our 
spirit,  that  we  are  children  of  God  .  .  .  the 
Spirit  Himself  maketh  intercession  for  us  with 
groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered  " :  while 
the  wide  range  of  His  influence  is  brought 
126 


The  Holy  Spirit  and  Free  Will 

out  by  the  omission  of  "  unto  him  "  from 
the  close  of  John  iii.  34,  "  For  He  whom 
God  hath  sent  speaketh  the  words  of  God  : 
for  He  giveth  not  the  Spirit  by  measure  " ; 
and  His  continual  ministry  is  enforced  by 
the  use  of  the  present  tense  in  i  Thess. 
iv.  8,  "  God  who  giveth  His  Holy  Spirit 
unto  you." 

As  an  example  of  a  change  so  slight  as 
liable  to  pass  unmarked,  and  yet  full  of 
significance,  we  may  point  to  the  omission 
of  "  of  "  before  *'  the  Spirit  "  in  John  iii.  5, 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  whereby  "  water  "  and  "  the  Spirit  " 
are  shown  to  be,  not  two  independent 
mediating  agencies,  but  essentially  con- 
nected.^ 


2.  Election  and  Free  Will. 

If    a    bias    against    Rome   has    been    un- 
necessarily   urged    against    the    Authorized 

^  Ellicott,  Considerations  on  the  Revision  of  the  English 
Testament,  London,  1870,  p.  75,  note  I. 

127 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

rendering  of  I  Cor.  xi.  27  (p.  121  f.),  there 
seems  equally  little  ground  for  asserting 
an  undue  bias  in  favour  of  Calvinistic 
doctrine  in  certain  other  passages,  for  in 
most  of  the  renderings  so  cited  the  Trans- 
lators of  161 1  appear  simply  to  have  followed 
older  authorities.^  But,  in  any  case,  the 
Revisers  have  been  careful  to  remove  all 
ground  of  complaint. 

Thus  in  Matt.  xx.  23,  "  but  to  sit  on  my 
right  hand,  and  on  my  left  hand,  is  not  mine 
to  give,  but  it  shall  be  given  to  them  for 
whom  it  is  prepared  of  my  father,"  the 
clause  "  it  shall  he  given "  (which,  as  the 
italics  show,  does  not  belong  to  the  original, 
but  has  found  its  way  into  the  text  through 
the  Genevan  version  to  bring  out  the 
sense)  has  now  been  softened  down  into 
"  it  is  for  them  for  whom  it  hath  been  pre- 
pared of  my  Father  "  ;  in  the  margins  of 
Rom.  iii.  25  and  v.  12,  the  suggested  alter- 
native  readings    "  foreordained  "    and    "  in 

1  Reference  may  be  made  to  an  article  by  Archdeacon 
Farrar  on  "  Fidelity  and  Bias  in  Versions  of  the  Bible  " 
in  the  Expositor,  2nd  Ser.,  iii.  p.  280  fF. 
128 


The  Holy  Spirit  and  Free  Will 

whom "  disappear ;  in  the  very  difficult 
Heb.  vi.  6,  the  words  "  if  they  shall  fall  away  " 
are  now  rendered  "  and  then  fell  away  "  in 
accordance  with  the  tense  of  the  Greek 
verb,^  while  the  marginal  "  the  while," 
instead  of  "  seeing  they  crucify  to  them- 
selves the  Son  of  God  afresh,"  makes  it  clear 
that  it  is  only  so  long  as  men  go  on  so 
crucifying  the  Son  of  God  that  renewal  is 
impossible. 

Or,  to  take  one  more  example,  it  has 
been  thought  that  the  translation  of  the 
famous  verse,  Heb.  x.  38,  has  been  modified 
in  the  interests  of  the  doctrine  of  the  final 
perseverance  of  saints.  Tindale  translated 
it :  "  But  the  just  shall  live  by  faith.  And 
if  he  withdraw  himself,  my  soul  shall  have 
no  pleasure  in  him " — showing  that  the 
person  whose  possible  withdrawing  is  thought 
of  is  "  the  just  "  of  the  first  clause.  But 
the  Genevan  translators  substituted  "  any  " 
for  "  he,"  drawing  a  distinction  between 
the  two,  and  in  this  they  were  followed  by 
the   Authorized,   "  but    if    any    man    draw 

^  Kol  TrapaTTicrovras* 
129 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

back,  my  soul  shall  have  no  pleasure  in 
him."  ^  The  older  and  more  correct 
rendering  now  reappears  in  the  Revised : 

"  But  my  righteous  one  shall  live  by  faith : 
And   if  he  shrink   back,    my   soul    hath    no  pleasure 
in  him." 

The  freedom,  indeed,  of  man's  will  and 
the  need  of  a  definite  exercise  of  it  in  the 
realization  of  the  offered  blessings  both 
obtain  fresh  prominence  in  the  Revised 
Version.  Thus  in  Matt,  xviii.  3,  the  opening 
verb,  though  passive  in  form,^  is  properly 
rendered  actively,  and  the  popular  error  of 
men  being  mere  passive  instruments  in 
the  hands  of  God  thereby  exploded : 
"  Except  ye  turn,  and  become  as  little 
children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  And,  so  again, 
Peter's  words  in  his  sermon  at  Jerusalem 
gain  a  new  and  unexpected  force  when  we 
read,    "  Repent     ye    therefore,    and     turn 

^  The  italics  any  man,  which  now  appear  in  our  Bibles, 
were  first  introduced  in  the  1638  edition  of  the  Author- 
ized Version. 

130 


The  Holy  Spirit  and  Free  Will 

again,  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out, 
that  so  there  may  come  seasons  of  refreshing 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord"  (Acts  iii.  19).^ 
Instead  of  the  waiting  to  "  be  converted  .  .  . 
when  the  times  of  refreshing  shall  come,"  in 
seasons,  that  is,  of  revival,  we  learn  that 
the  actual  coming  of  these  seasons  is  de- 
pendent on  human  effort,  and  the  fulfil- 
ment by  men  of  the  necessary  conditions  by 
deliberately  turning  to  God  and  obeying 
His  will.  It  was  a  lesson  that  Peter  himself 
had  learned  from  the  Lord  :  for  the  charge 
to  him  was  not,  "  when  thou  art  con- 
verted, strengthen  thy  brethren,"  but, 
"  do  thou,  when  once  thou  hast  turned 
again,  stablish  thy  brethren  "  (Luke  xxii.  32). 
In  St.  John's  Gospel,  again,  its  proper  force 
is  given  to  the  Greek  verb  for  "  will,"  ^ 
which,  as  rendered  in  the  Authorized  Version, 
seems  often  no  more  than  the  mark  of  the 
future.  "  Wouldest  thou  " — that  is,  hast 
thou  the  will,  the  desire  to — "  be  made 
whole  ? "  is  the  full  force  of  Jesus'  question 

^  i7riaTp&f/aT€  .  .   .  ottws  av  lA,^<uo-t  Kaipol  dvaj^^cws. 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

to  the  impotent  man  at  Bethesda.^ 
To  the  Twelve  at  Capernaum  He  says, 
"  Would  ye  also  go  away  ?  "  ^  And,  more 
pointedly  still,  "  If  any  man  will  do  his 
will"  becomes,  "If  any  man  willeth  to  do 
his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  teaching, 
whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  from 
myself  "  :  ^  "  the  force  of  the  argument  lies 
in  the  moral  harmony  of  the  man's  purpose 
with  the  divine  law  so  far  as  this  law  is 
known  or  felt."  * 

In  the  same  connexion  the  force  of  the 
reflexive  pronouns  in  John  v.  42,  "  But  I 
know  you,  that  ye  have  not  the  love  of  God 
in  yourselves";  ib,  vi.  53,  "Except  ye  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man  and  drink  His 
blood,  ye  have  not  life  in  yourselves  " ;  and 
ih.  xvii.  19,  "  And  for  their  sakes  I  sanctify 
myself,  that  they  themselves  also  may  be 
sanctified  in  truth,"  ought  not  to  be  missed, 
as  bringing  out  that  the  appropriation  of  the 
life  of  Christ  on  the  part  of  believers,  "  so 
far  from   extinguishing  their   individuality, 

1  John  V.  6.  2  73^  yj,  5y^ 

3  lb.  vii.  17.  *  Westcott  ad  loc. 

132 


The  Holy  Spirit  and  Free  Will 

responsibility,  and  freedom,  . .  .  rather  brings 
these  prominently  forward  as  characteristics 
especially  distinguishing  them."  ^ 

Regarded  indeed  together,  all  believers 
form  a  single  great  abstract  unity,  which 
God  has  given  to  Christ :  "  whatsoever 
Thou  hast  given  Him  " — so  our  Lord  Him- 
self describes  the  company  of  the  faithful 
in  His  great  Intercessory  Prayer.  And  it 
is  only  when  the  thought  passes  to  the 
individuals  composing  that  company,  on 
whom  in  His  turn  the  Son  bestows  His 
gift,  that  the  neuter-singular  gives  place  to 
the  masculine-plural—''  to  them  he  should 
give  eternal  life."  ^ 

Therefore,  too,  it  is  that  in  Christ  we 
have  not  only  "  redemption  "  as  a  general 

1  W.  Milligan,  The  Jscens'wn  and  Heavenly  Priesthood 
of  our  Lord,  London,  1892,  p.  188. 

2  John  xvii.  2.  With  this  may  be  compared  the  Pauline, 
"  For  ye  are  all  one  man  in  Christ  Jesus"  (Gal.  iii.  28), 
**  not  *  one '  only  in  the  abstract  by  the  acknowledgment 
of  a  real  fellowship,  .  .  .  hut  one  man  :  .  .  .  one  by  the 
presence  of  a  vital  energy  guided  by  one  law,  one  will, 
to  one  end"  (Westcott,  The  Victory  of  the  Cross,  London, 
1888,  p.  41). 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

gift,  according  to  the  Authorized  rendering, 
but  "  our  redemption,"  so  the  Revisers 
translate,  to  bring  out  the  force  of  the 
definite  article  in  the  original,  the  redemp- 
tion which  meets  our  individual  needs  (Eph. 
i.  7).  And  again,  when  the  Lord  comes, 
"  who  will  both  bring  to  light  the  hidden 
things  of  darkness,  and  make  manifest  the 
counsels  of  the  hearts,"  the  promise  is,  "  then 
shall  each  man  have  his  praise  from  God  " 
— a  much  more  personal  av^ard  than,  "  then 
shall  every  man  have  praise  of  God  "  (i  Cor. 
iv.  S). 


134 


IV 
THE  LAST  THINGS 

I.  The  Parousia. 

The  word  "  manifest  "  in  the  last-mentioned 
passage  introduces  us  to  yet  another  line  of 
doctrinal  truth,  which  the  Revised  Version 
helps  to  make  clear.  Christ's  coming  or 
"  presence,"  as  the  margin  of  the  Revised 
Version  more  correctly  renders  the  Greek 
word,^  is  represented  by  all  the  Apostolic 
writers  as  far  more  than  an  appearing. 
It  is  a  manifestation,  a  showing  forth  of 
Himself  openly  to  the  world  as  He  actually 

^irapovo-ia;  see  Matt.  xxiv.  3;  i  Cor.  xv.  23; 
I  Thess.  ii.  19,  etc.  It  is  perhaps  unfortunate  that  in 
these  passages  the  Revisers  did  not  boldly  anglicize  the 
Greek  word  and  translate  by  "  Parousia.'*  On  the  full 
force  of  the  term  in  the  light  of  recent  discovery  see 
G.  Milligan,  St,  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Thess alonians^ 
London,  1908,  pp.  145  fF. 

135 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

is — Col.  iii.  4,  "  When  Christ,  who  is  our  Hfe, 
shall  be  manifested,  then  shall  ye  also  with 
Him  be  manifested  in  glory  "  ;  i  Pet.  v.  4, 
"  And  when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  be 
manifested,  ye  shall  receive  the  crown  of 
glory  that  fadeth  not  away  "  ;  i  John  ii.  28, 
"  And  now,  my  little  children,  abide  in  Him  ; 
that,  if  He  shall  be  manifested,  we  may  have 
boldness,  and  not  be  ashamed  before  Him 
at  His  coming."  And  the  result  of  such 
manifestation  is  that  men  too  shall  be  made 
manifest — 2  Cor.  v.  10,  "  For  we  must  all 
be  made  manifest  before  the  judgement- 
seat  of  Christ ;  that  each  one  may  receive 
the  things  done  in  the  body,  according  to 
what  he  hath  done,  whether  it  he  good  or 
bad."  All  outward  disguises  by  which 
men  have  deceived  themselves  or  the  world 
will  be  stripped  from  them.  They  will  be 
shown  in  their  inmost  being,  and,  conse- 
quently on  this  showing,  the  appropriate 
reward  or  punishment  will  immediately 
and  necessarily  follow.  Those  whose  life 
has  been  "  hid  with  Christ  in  God  "  shall 
then  "  also  with  Him  be  manifested  in 
136 


The  Last  Things 

glory "  (Col.  iii.  4)  :  and  then  too  "  shall 
be  revealed  the  lawless  one,  whom  the 
Lord  Jesus  .  .  .  shall  bring  to  nought  by 
the  manifestation  of  His  coming  "  (2  Thess. 
ii.  8).^  How  familiar  indeed  the  thought  of 
this  great  Day  was  to  the  minds  of  the 
early  Christians,  and  how  vividly  its  imagery 
was  conceived,  is  proved  by  the  constant 
use  of  the  definite  article  with  reference 
to  its  accompaniments.  It  is  with  "  the 
clouds  "  that  Christ  comes  (Rev.  i.  7),  and 
by  "  the  falling  away "  and  the  revealing 
of  "  the  man  of  sin,"  that  that  coming  will 
be  preceded  (2  Thess.  ii.  3 ;  cf.  2  John  7, 
"  This  is  the  deceiver  and  the  antichrist  "). 
Not  merely  into  "  outer  darkness "  but 
into  "  the  outer  darkness "  shall  the  un- 
profitable   be    cast,    where    shall   be    "  the 

^  We  may  here  call  attention  to  the  emphasis  laid  on 
the  personality  of  the  Devil  in  the  Revised  renderings  of 
Matt.  V.  37  (cf.  ver.  39),  vi.  13  ;  John  xvii.  15  ;  Eph.  vi. 
16;  2  Thess.  iii.  3;  i  John  v.  18,  19.  The  masculine 
pronoun  in  Mark  xiii.  14,  "But  when  ye  see  the 
abomination  of  desolation  standing  where  he  ought  not 
(to  /SScAvy/xa  rrjs  cpTj/iwcrcws  €(rTT]KOTa  oirov  ov  Set)," 
should  also  be  noted. 

137 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth "  (Matt, 
viii.  12  ;  cf.  ib.  xiii.  42,  50,  xxii.  13,  xxiv.  51, 
XXV.  30,  Luke  xiii.  28).  It  is  again  from 
"  the  wrath,"  and  not  from  "  wrath " 
generally,  that  Christ's  people  are  saved 
(Rom.  V.  9),  and  "  in  the  white  robes " 
that  those  who  have  come  out  of  "  the 
great  tribulation "  are  arrayed  (Rev.  vii. 
13,  14).  Nor  is  it  only  for  "  a  city  which 
hath  foundations  "  that  they  are  encouraged 
to  look,  but  for  "  the  city  which  hath 
the  foundations "  (Heb.  xi.  10) — those 
glorious  foundations  which  are  so  fully 
described  in  the  Revelation  of  St.  John 
(xxi.  14,  19,  20). 

2.  The  Hereafter. 

The  bearing  of  the  Revised  Version  upon 
the  Future  State  opens  up  too  many 
questions  to  be  discussed  in  the  closing 
sentences  of  this  book.  But  how  significant 
its  bearing  is,  and  how  widely  it  may  come 
to  modify  the  popular  views  of  the  Here- 
after must  be  obvious  to  all  who  keep  in 

138 


The  Last  Things 

view  the  following  facts  :  (i)  The  words 
"  damnation,"  "  damned,"  "  damnable," 
have  wholly  disappeared — "  condemnation," 
"  judgement,"  and  their  cognates,  taking 
their  place ;  (2)  "  Hell,"  when  referring 
generally  to  the  unseen  world  beyond  the 
grave,  becomes  "  Hades  "  ;  when  punish- 
ment, as  a  part  of  that  state,  is  implied,  it 
is  retained,  but  even  then  "  Gehenna,"  the 
literal  meaning  of  the  word  in  the  original, 
always  finds  a  place  in  the  margin ;  and 
(3)  "  everlasting,"  as  applied  alike  to  future 
bliss  or  future  woe,  is  replaced  by  "  eternal," 
a  word  which  does  not  so  much  express  endless 
duration  in  time,  as  that  which  transcends 
time,  very  much  what  we  otherwise  designate 
"  spiritual,"  or,  if  the  element  of  time  does 
enter  into  it,  it  rather  suggests  a  fixed  period, 
"  age-long,"  or  "  through  the  ages."  ^ 

1  See  these  changes  discussed  from  his  own  point  of 
view,  but  with  great  moderation  of  language  in  a  paper  by 
Dr.  Samuel  Cox  in  The  Expositor^  ist  ser.  iii.  pp.  434  ff. 
Some  remarks  by  Professor  A.  Roberts  on  the  same 
subject  will  be  found  in  The  Expository  Times,  iii. 
pp.  549  IF. 


Value  of  the  Revised  Version 

There  are  many  other  points  on  which, 
if  space  had  permitted,  I  would  gladly  have 
dealt,  but  enough  I  trust  has  been  said  to 
show  how  true  it  is  that  "  every  scripture 
inspired  of  God  is  also  profitable  for  teach- 
ing "  (2  Tim.  iii.  16,  R.V.),  and  at  least 
to  give  a  glimpse  of  the  rich  field  of  inquiry 
that  lies  before  the  student  in  the  careful 
comparison  of  our  Authorized  and  Revised 
Versions. 


140 


APPENDIX 

Additional  Reading 

The  books  on  the  Fourth  Gospel  are  legion. 
Most  of  them,  however,  deal  with  the 
higher  criticism  of  the  Gospel  or  elucidate 
the  text,  though  many  of  these  expound 
the  teaching  with  greater  or  less  fulness. 
Among  them  Bishop  Westcott's  Gospel 
according  to  St.  John  (1882)  is  distinguished 
by  its  spiritual  insight  and  fine  devotional 
tone.  Some  of  the  best  expositions  of 
the  thought  of  the  Gospel  are  to  be  found 
in  general  books  on  New  Testament 
theology,  of  which  the  following  are  good 
examples  :  Prof.  Moffatt's  Theology  of  the 
Gospels  (191 2) ;  Prof.  Du  Bose,  The  Gospel 
in  the  Gospels  (1905)  ;  and  Prof.  Denney, 
Jesus  and  the  Gospel  (1908).  The  following 
three  books  may  be  specially  mentioned  : 
141 


Appendix 

by  Bishop  Westcott  (new  edit.,  London, 
1905).  A  briefer  sketch  will  be  found  in  the 
present  writer's  Guild  text-book  (London, 
A.  &  C.  Black),  which  contains  a  selected 
Bibliography  of  other  books  dealing  with 
the  subject. 

The  case  for  the  need  of  the  Revision 
of  the  Authorized  Version  is  admirably 
stated  by  Archbishop  Trench  in  his  Essay 
On  the  Authorized  Version  of  the  New 
Testament  (2nd  edit.,  London,  1859),  by 
Bishop  Ellicott  in  his  Considerations  on  the 
Revision  of  the  English  Version  of  the  New 
Testament  (London,  1870),  and  by  Bishop 
Lightfoot,  with  more  direct  reference  to 
the  original  Greek,  in  his  most  suggestive 
study  On  a  Fresh  Revision  of  the  English 
New  Testament  (3rd  edit.,  London,  1891). 
Bishop  Ellicott,  who  acted  as  Chairman  of 
the  New  Testament  Revision  Committee, 
has  also  given  a  most  interesting  account 
of  the  Committee's  proceedings  in  a  small 
volume  entitled  Addresses  on  the  Revised 
Version  of  Holy  Scripture  (London, 
S.P.C.K.,  1901). 

142 


Appendix 

The  way  in  which  the  new  renderings 
can  be  made  profitable  for  preaching  is 
well  brought  out  in  Dean  Vaughan's  volume 
of  sermons,  Authorized  or  Revised  ?  (London, 
1882).  But,  above  all,  for  a  proper  appre- 
hension of  the  importance  of  the  Revisers' 
work,  no  one  should  neglect  Bishop  West- 
cott's  ^ome  Lessons  of  the  Revised  Version 
of  the  New  Testament  (London,  Hodder  & 
Stoughton,  1897),  in  which  the  significance 
of  the  various  changes  introduced  is  traced 
with  all  the  writer's  marvellous  acquaint- 
ance with  the  original  Greek  text,  and  deep 
spiritual  insight. 


H3 


INDEX 

A.  INDEX  OF  PASSAGES 


PAGE 

Matt.  ii.  4 ^o 

„     Hi.  I  .     .     . 

74 

„     iii.  14     •     • 

„      V.   I,  2    .      . 

76 
65 

„     V.  17      .     • 

86 

»     V.  37      .     . 

137 

„     vi.9-13.     . 

II 

„     vi.  19     .     . 

79 

,,     vi.  25     .     . 

54 

„     viii.  28,  32 . 

10 

,,     ix.  12     .     . 

10 

„     X.  4  .     •     • 

63 

„     X.  10      .     . 

55 

„     xii.  18    . 

10 

,,     xii.  44    • 

10 

„     xiii.  1-23 
„     xiv.  8     . 

*n^4 

„     xiv.  24  . 

II 

„     XV.  27    . 
„     xvu.  25  . 

57,68 

„     xviu.  3  . 

.  128 

„     XX.  23    . 
„     xxi.  19  . 

„     xxii.  8,  13 
„     xxiii.35- 

!       68 

„     xxiv.  3  . 

.     135 

„     XXV.  6    . 
„     XXV.  27  . 

.       71 

.      55 

„     xxvi.  7   . 

.       79 

„     XXVI.  27. 
„     XXVI.  53 

:  "i 

„     xxviii.  19 

.     "9 

PAGE 

Mark  i.  27  .     . 

.     70 

„     »•  37  .     • 

•      75 

„     ii.  18      . 

.    76 

„     vi.  25     . 

.    64 

,,     vii.  10-12 

.     60 

„     ix.  23     . 

.     70 

„     xi.  4 .     . 

.    72 

,,     xiii.  14  • 

.    137 

„     xiv.  18  . 
Luke  i.  4    .     . 

.     80 
.    81 

„     i.  63 .     . 

.     80 

„     ii.  12      . 

.      73 

„     ii-  25-27 

•     '?^ 

„     iii.  23     . 

.      64 

„     iv.  I  .     . 

84,  125 

„     iv.  9.     . 

•     V- 

„     iv.  20     . 

.      81 

„     vi.  17     . 

.      65 

:;  vii.  38 . 

.      80 

„     xvi.  I  flF. 

.      66 

„     xviii.  9  . 

.       67 

„     xix.  13  . 

:  i§ 

„     xxi.  19  . 

„     xxii.  32  . 

.     »3i 

,,     xxiv.  26 . 

.      90 

John  i.  18  .     . 

.     100 

„    iii.  5  .     . 

.     127 

„    iii.  34      . 

.     127 

„    iv.  27.     . 

.       74 

„    iv.  37  f.   • 

.       77 

„    y.6     .    . 

.     132 

,,    V.  39f-    • 

i      91 

H5 


Index 


PAGE 

John  vi.  14      .     .     .     .       87  1 

„     vi.  18     .     . 

76 

„     viii.  58  .     . 

100 

„     xii.  13    .     . 

72 

„     xii.  32    .     . 

III 

„     xiii.  23-25  . 

81 

,,     xiv.  16    .     . 

126 

„     XV.  2,  3.     . 

85 

„     xvii.  3    .     . 

107 

,,     xvii.  15  . 

137 

„     xvii.  19.     . 

133 

„     xix.  35  . 

78 

Acts  ii.  47  .     . 

115 

„    iii.  13.     . 

87 

„    m.  19.     . 

131 

,,    viii.  16     . 

121 

„    xvii.  23    . 

74 

»   xix.  33     . 

64 

„    XXI.  15     . 

56 

,,    xxviii.  13 

56 

Rom.  i.  13.     . 

56 

„     iii.  25     . 

128 

„     v.  9  .     . 

140 

»     V.  15-19 

106 

„     v.  21       . 

III 

„     vi.  2 .     . 

105 

„     vi.  23     . 

109 

„     viii.  16,  26 

126 

„     xiii.  II  . 

"5 

I  Cor.  i.  5  .     . 

no 

„      i.  18      . 

.     115 

„        IV.  4        . 

.      58 

„      xi.  I      . 

.     118 

„      xi.  25    . 

57, 

121  ff. 

>,      xii.  3,  4 

.     125 

„      XV.  23    . 

•     135 

2  Cor.  iii.  18   . 

.     117 

„       iv.  5    . 

•       99 

„       V.  10  . 

.     136 

„       V.  14  . 

.     105 

„       V.  17-20 

ic 

>8,  117 

2  Cor.  V.  21 

Gal.  iii.  28 . 

„     V.  17  . 

Eph.  ii.  5   . 

„      ii-  13. 

„     iii.  19 

„  IV.  13 
Phil.  ii.  5-8 

„     iv.  6  . 

M  iv.  13 
Col.  i.  16,  17 

„    ii.  2     . 

„    ii.  10  . 

„  iii-  3  . 
„  m.  4  . 
,,    iii.  10. 

1  Thess.  ii.  19 

,,  iv.  4 
„  iv.  7 
„       iv.  15 

2  Thess.  ii.  3 

"      }}:  7 
>>      iii.  I 
I  Tim.  iii.  16 
,,      vi.  10 
Heb.  ii.  9  . 
„     iv.  8  . 
,,     v.  7,  8 
„     vi.  6  . 
„     X.  38. 
,,     xi.  10 

1  Pet.  ii.  4,  5 

,,      iii-  15 
,,      V.  4  . 

2  Pet.  i.  5-7 
I  John  ii.  I 

„     ii.  28 

„     V.  18,  19 

Rev.  vii.  13,  14 

„     xxi.  19,  20 


146 


Ind 


ex 


B,  INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS 


Aorist,  force  of  Greek,  104. 
Atonement,  107. 
Authorized  Version,  29-36. 
Bede,  the  venerable,  7,  18. 
Bias  in  translation,  127  ff. 
Bible,  the  Bishops',  27. 

,,     the  "Breeches,"  26. 

,,     Coverdale's,  21. 

,,     Cranmer's,  24. 

,,     the  Genevan,  27. 

,,     Matthew's,  23. 

,,     Rheims  and  Douai,  29. 

„     **  The  Great,"  23. 

,,     Tindale's,  13-19. 
Christ,  Person  of,  96-103. 

,,      "Work  of,  104-106. 
Colloquialism,  53. 
Definite  Article,  71  ff.,  137. 
Devil,  personality  of,  137. 
Eastern  Manners  and  Customs, 

79  ff. 
Fidelity,  17. 
Free-will,  127  ff. 


Greek'  vernacular,  5. 
Hebrew  MSB.,  3. 
Hereafter,  the,  I38f. 
Jerome,  6. 

Jesus,  the  human  name,  103. 
Learning,  Revival  of,  13. 
Life  in  Christ,  io8  ff. 
Marginal  references,  39. 
Parousia,  58,  135-140. 
Prayer,  the  Lord's,  11. 
Printing,  Invention  of,  12. 
Proper  names,  spelling  of,  89. 
Responsibility,individual,  133c 
Revival,  seasons  of,  131. 
Revised  Version,  37-42. 
Sacraments,  i2off. 
Sanctification,  114ft 
Septuagint,  the,  3. 
Sower,  Parable  of  the,  48-53, 
Spirit,  the  Holy,  118,  124  ff. 
Trench,  Archbishop,  48,  88. 
Vulgate,  the,  6. 
Wyclif.  8-1 1. 


THE 

SHORT  COURSE  SERIES 

EDITED  BY 
Rev.  JOHN  ADAMS,  B.D. 


This  Series  is  designed  to  encourage  a  healthy  reaction  in 
the  direction  of  expository  preaching.  Leading  expositors  in 
all  the  Churches  have  kindly  promised  assistance;  and  the 
Series,  to  be  issued  at  the  uniform  price  of  60  cents  net  per 
volume,  will  furnish  a  sufficiently  large  variety  for  individual 
selection. 


NOW  READY 


A  CRY  FOR  JUSTICE:  A  Study  in  Amos. 

By  Prof.  J.  E.  McFadyen,  D.D.,  U.  F.  C.  College, 

Glasgow. 

THE  BEATITUDES. 

By  Rev.  Robert  H.  Fisher,  D.D.,  Edinburgh. 

THE  LENTEN  PSALMS. 

By  the  Editor. 

THE  PSALM  OF  PSALMS. 

By  Prof.  James  Stalker,  D.D.,  Aberdeen. 

THE  SONG  AND  THE  SOIL. 

By  Prof.  W.  G.  Jordan,  D.D.,  Kingston,  Ontario. 

THE  HIGHER  POWERS  OF  THE  SOUL. 

By  Rev.  George  M'Haedy,  D.D.,  Kirkcaldy. 

JEHOVAH-JESUS. 

By  Rev.  Thomas  Whitelaw,  D.D.,  Kilmaxnock. 

THE  SEVENFOLD  I  AM. 

By  Rev.  Thomas  Marjoribanks,  B.D.,  Edinburgh. 

THE  MAN  AMONG  THE  MYRTLES:  A  Study  in 
2^chariah*s  Visions. 

By  the  Editor. 


NOW  READY 

THE  STORY  OF  JOSEPH. 

By  Rev.  Adam  C.  Welch,  B.D.,  Th.D.,  Glasgow. 

THE  DIVINE  DRAMA  OF  JOB. 

By  Rev.  Charles  F.  Aked,  D.D.,  San  Francisco. 

A  MIRROR  OF  THE  SOUL :  Studies  in  the  Psalter. 

By  Rev.  Canon  Vaughan,  M.A.,  Winchester. 

IN  THE  UPPER  ROOM. 

By  Rev.  D.  J.  Burrill,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  New  York. 

THE  PRAYERS  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

By  Prof.  W.  G.  Grlffith  Thomas,  D.D.,  Toronto. 

THE  EMOTIONS  OF  JESUS. 

By  Prof.  Robert  Law,  D.D.,  Toronto. 

THE  SON  OF  MAN. 

By  Prof.  Andrew  C.  Zenos,  D.D.,  Chicago. 

THE  JOY  OF  FINDING:  An  Exposition  of  Luke 

XV.    11-32.     By  Principal  A.  E.  Garvie,  D.D.,  New 
College,  London. 

BELIEF  AND  LIFE:   Expositions  in  the  Fourth 

Gospel.    By  Principal  W.  B.  Selbie,  D.D.,  Mans- 
field College,  Oxford. 

THE  PROPHECY  OF  MICAH. 

By  Principal  A.  J.  Tait,  M.A.,  Ridley  Hall,  Cambridge. 

THE  EXPOSITORY  VALUE  OF  THE  REVISED 

VERSION.    By  Prof.  G.  Milligan,  D.D.,  University 
of  Glasgow. 

The  Following  Other  Volumes  are  in 
Preparation 

THE  SEVEN  WORDS  FROM  THE  CROSS. 

By  Rev.  A.  B.  Macaulay,  M.A.,  Stirling. 

READINGS  IN  THE  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  LUKE. 

By  Prof.  W.  Emery  Barnes,  D.D.,  Cambridge. 


THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  PRODIGAL  SON. 

By  Principal  A.  E.  Garvie,  D.D.,  New  College,  London. 

SOCIAL  STUDIES. 

By  Rev.    Canon  Simpson,  M.A.,  D.D.,  St.  Paul's, 
London. 

THE  OVERTURES  OF  JESUS. 

By  Rev.  Newell  Dwight  Hillis,  D.D.,  Brooklyn. 

SCENES  FROM  THE  LIFE  OF  DAVID. 

By  Prof.  H.  R.  Mackintosh,  D.D.,  Edinburgh. 
A  PREFACE  TO  THE  GOSPEL:  An  Exposition  of 

Isaiah  55.    By  Rev.  A.  Smellie,  D.D.,  Carluke. 

THE  METAPHORS  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

By  Rev.  A.  Boyd  Scott,  B.D.,  Glasgow. 

THE  HOLY  SPIRIT. 

By   Rev.   F.   Stuart-Gaediner,   B.D.,   Kingstown, 
Ireland. 

THE  REDEMPTION  OF  GOD. 

By  Prof.  T.  B.  Kilpatrick,  D.D.,  Toronto. 

STUDIES  IN  THE  APOCALYPSE. 

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